


Tiny Temper

by acertainnromance



Series: Tiny Temper [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Multi, POV Female Character, POV Original Character, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 141,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29020074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acertainnromance/pseuds/acertainnromance
Summary: Rita Vixen's quiet, kind and introverted self can be outshined by one thing: her fiery temper that can burst out at any given moment, she isn't afraid to look out and care after her friends, even if that means standing up for what she believes in. She is starting her 3rd Year with her best friends Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Join her adventures throughout her third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh years with breaking out of her shell, love, drama, risk taking, and growing up in the Wizarding World!
Relationships: Ron Weasley & Original Female Character(s), Ron Weasley/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Tiny Temper [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128956
Kudos: 4





	1. leaky cauldron adventures

Laying down on the massive queen bed, I stared up to the canopy that hung above my bed. The canopy that sparkled a bit like it was the twinkling night sky, I took a deep breath. 

My house, this immense castle, was empty. It's been like this all summer, Mum and Dad are probably in another country right now, talking to some crazy Minister of Magic attempting to help solve a magical mistake. It was rather unusually quiet around my house, but I didn't mind it. 

A stiff knock came from the door with a muffled, gentle but raspy voice coming from behind it, "You got mail from the Weasel and the Muggle. None from ol' famous Potter though," he said with a sigh, banging on the door again. "Let me in, will you?"

I kicked my legs off the bed, pacing to the door and gave it a nice tug. There stood my house elf, Krobus, with his hand full of two letters and a dopey look on his face. "None from Harry?" I questioned Krobus, but he shook his head with a pout,

"I know how much you wanted him to write back after you sent tens of letters to the poor boy. You know how his Muggle family is, you'll talk to your friend soon!" He reassured me, plopping the letters in my hand. 

"Weasel's letter is a bit noisy, would check it if I were you. Don't let Soupy get a whiff of Granger's letter too." He waved his hand up in the air, shutting the door behind him. Instantly gripping the two letters in each hand, I darted between the two. One noisy, one smelt. Which one shall I pick?

I set Ron's letter off to the side as I began reading my best girl friend, Hermione Granger's letter, who told me all about how she misses me and how her parents took her off to France where she wrote her History of Magic essay on the witchcraft of the French. 

She wished that I went and that if I ever wanted to stay in the Muggle city, I was more than welcome to join her and her family. She then told me about how she was going to be in London in the last weeks of holiday. 

At the bottom of the letter, she wrote a P.S., 'Here's a new potion I learned, I think it may come in handy when we go back to school. Don't want my family to touch it, therefore it's in your hands now!' 

I reached into the containment where the letter was, I touched a weird glass bottle at the bottom of the letter; grabbing the long, narrow beaker with a cork sticking out of it, I held it in my palm to give it another look. Shrugging with confusion, I set it off to the side, throwing the letter onto my nightstand.

Grabbing Ron's letter now, I carefully ripped it open. Ron told me all about his new vacation in Egypt with mutant skeletons, seeing his big brother Bill. His dad had won the Daily Prophet Draw, winning 700 galleons! 

He said he missed me and bought something that reminded him of me. He also wrote a P.S., I'll be in London for the last week of holiday. Hermione gratefully answered to come, please come with! I know Fred or George or I will be more than happy to escort you.

Opening the parcel, there lay a moleskin bag, opening it up was an even smaller note from Ron. 

"I know how you lose many things, here's a portable bag you can use whenever and wherever." It read. I smiled down at the bag as it was dyed to be the colour of purple, as Ron knew it was my favourite colour. He remembered.

Hanging it on the door of my closet, there was Harry's wrapped gift and a shining note taped to it. "Love Rita Vixen, To Harry Potter" The words tucked into the parcel were shining, all jumbled up as the light shined over it.

I had bought Harry a new bright watch that glimmered in the light, he was going to love it. It was neatly wrapped in a brown parcel, resting on the top of the drawer in my room.

Bangs, shouts, and laughter shuddered throughout my room, as I darted to the window to see who it was. A tall lanky figure stood in front of my door, shaking hands with Krobus, who appeared to be pleasant. Soupy jumped onto my bed, a siamese cat-kneazle, I threw her onto my chest, squeezing her as I ran down the steps to see what all the ruckus was about.

"Uncle Remus!" I shout, running over to my godfather who scooped me up with one arm, kissing me on the cheek. "Hello there, my dear goddaughter." He gratefully said, as my hands squeezed his neck. 

Remus Lupin, my god father, was an incredible man. He was terribly bright at the Dark Arts and was going to be the professor that subject at our very own Hogwarts this year, Dumbledore even personally invited him for the spot.

He set me down, turning over to shut the door before a fluffy white moving ball shot directly into me. I shot down onto the floor, as Soupy growled, jumping away from me and making her way to the kitchen. The moving ball of white, turned its head over to my direction and there stood Hedwig, Harry's owl. 

"Hedwig!" I squeaked, as the bird fluttered to the top of my head as I managed to set myself up. "Are you here to give Harry my gift?" A loud, proud chirp left Hedwig's beak. A smile spread across my face, as I proceeded up the stairs with Hedwig chiming on my head. 

Opening up the window as soon as I stepped in, I tiptoed to the parcel, as Hedwig sat on my drawer. "Here." I quickly said, placing the heavy parcel into her claws, without a sound, Hedwig flapped away out the window and into the sky.

Remus stumbled up the steps, peeking his head from my door, peering in. I was leaning against the wall, watching Hedwig fly gracefully throughout the forget-me-not blue sky. "Whose owl is that? Did mum ever get the time to buy you one?" He spoke, as I whipped my direction over my shoulder. 

"That's Harry Potter's owl." I grin, as his face lit up. 

"You're friends with him?" He walked into my room, observing the letters on my bedside table with a raised eyebrow. "Ron Weasley? Hermione Granger?" He questioned this, skimming the letters with the tip of his finger. 

"Those three are my best friends." I softly said, whipping my head back to see a smudge of Hedwig's body flying over the horizon.

The smell of food filled the room, twirling up our nostrils. "Rita, come on. Krobus gave us a fantastic meal, can't you smell it?" He extended his arm, reaching out for mine. "Race you?" I giggled as he laughed. I ran down the stairs as Uncle Remus followed with louder footsteps. 

Racing to the gigantic table, a full meal of roast turkey, chicken, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, saucers full of gravy, were all nicely prepared around the table while Krobus was still making more food in the kitchen. 

Clangs and bangs came from the kitchen as the elf hummed a tune, stirring up a stew in a big pot on the oven. He stood on the counter, stirring the pot with a wooden spoon that was taller than him.

"Eat." Krobus yelled from the kitchen, as we sat down at the table with a full eye view of the telly. My parents had friends which were Muggles that gave us many Muggle inventions propped all over our house. One being a telly. 

The telly blared with a reporter who was talking about a convicted murderer on the loose. U

ncle Remus stared directly at the telly as I gobbled down pieces of potatoes. He looked frightened, watching the television with a furrowed brow. "Sirius Black." He grumbles, scooping a spoonful of potatoes into his mouth.

"Who's that ?" I question as he ignores me, still staring directly at the sight of a man who had matted black wavy hair, with a beard as scruffy as a bear. 

"Nothing to worry about," he swallows, holding his hands above his mouth, resting his elbows at the table. "Changing the subject. Tell me all about your second year of Hogwarts." He said, changing the subject immediately, but I didn't seem to care. 

I explained to my uncle about how I hung out with Ron for the beginning of the summer as we flew a flying car in the sky to rescue our friend Harry from his foul Muggle family that barred his window up. 

The flying car we took, swarming above the scarlet Hogwarts Express because the barrier closed as we tried to get on the train, when Snape caught us, and how we got in a slight amount of trouble by Miss McGonagall. I explained thoroughly about Aragog, the Chamber of Secrets, Lockheart, Quidditch, Draco Malfoy, the Polyjuice potion, Moaning Myrtle, Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George, even Percy the prefect.

Remus let out a shocked laugh, "Ah, you kids remind me of my old friend group, when I was younger. Always getting into some sort of trouble together, but staying extremely close throughout it all. A bonding experience if I may say." He gulps, reminding himself of his old friend group that turned into shambles as they all had some sort of distractions which led them to group apart, at least that's what Uncle Remus tells me.

"Um, Uncle Remus..." I switched the conversation, glancing up at him who tilted his head to signal he's all ears. "I reckon my friends want to go to London during the last week of holiday, is that all right if I tagged along?" I followed as he stifled a smile. 

"Of course, as long as you have fun." We began planning out our next adventures for the remainder of the summer, Quidditch training in the backyard, excitative magic skills, homework, followed by a trip to Diagon Alley.

Dismissing myself from dinner, I went upstairs to write back to my friends. I wrote Ron a huge thank you letter, thanking him for thinking of me and telling him I missed him too. I informed him that Uncle Remus was the new Defense of the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, including that I was thrilled to have family during the school year. 

Finishing the letter, I wrote lastly, that he was in for a tight hug whenever I found him in London. I wrote back to Hermione, also including that my Uncle was now the new professor, I told her more detailed about how I felt extremely happy that he would be there with me. I told her how much I missed her, when I saw her she was getting a hug attack.

Morning after morning at the Vixen castle, Uncle Remus woke me up blasting rock music throughout the house (Uncle Remus introduced me to rock music when I was younger, since then it's been a huge part of my life), a plate full of delicious breakfast meals, then continuing some of my homework like my essay, which I wrote about London's magical history, magical training, and lastly Quidditch practice.

I was already on the Quidditch team, I was a chaser along with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. The night usually ended off with us, Krobus and Soupy watching the Muggle television air famous Muggle shows we had no idea existed.

A week later, we made our way through Floo powder to the Leaky Cauldron, with our trunks, and Soupy in a wickerwork to stay the night, to gather the books and equipment for school, and meet up with my very best friends.

Uncle Remus booked us a room for two, as we heaved our trunks and wickerwork into our spacious room with two beds.

We stumbled down the Leaky Cauldron's narrow passage, along the walls were moving paintings with nasty looks upon their faces. Wasn't the best thing to see. "Where should we set off to first?" asked Uncle Remus, stepping down the stairs behind me. "Ron and Hermione are supposedly meeting up with me, here." I said, turning around to see Uncle Remus' face. 

We stepped off the stairs, and I took a double check to see if I was missing anything;Uncle Remus stared blankly in front of me. "Okay, I've got my bag, my lip balm, my handkerchief- How many Galleons do I have?" I questioned, opening up the purple bag Ron had got me, moving things around to count the huge gold coins clanging in my bag. 

"Do the Weasleys have bright red hair?" Uncle Remus asked, still staring ahead of me. "Yes-" I said, closing my bag and lifting up my eyes to the Weasley family along with Hermione.

Hermione gasps loudly, "Rita!" She calls. She dashed towards me, launching her arms around me. Uncle Remus stood to the side with a wide smile on his face, he was glad I got to see my friends again. "Hermione!" I yell, hugging her tightly as we stood there, swaying for a few seconds. 

"Hermione, you're hogging her! Can I have a go?" Ginny barks, as Hermione rolled her eyes and let go of me. I hugged Ginny as she squeezed me, and once I was let out of her grasp, then getting scooped up by Fred. He spun me around in a circle, "Ri! We missed you!" Fred let me down as George's arms flung around my tiny self. George did the same but spun me a bit faster and giggled at my facial expression. 

Molly Weasley wrapped me into a hug, then I shook hands with both Arthur and Percy, I was overwhelmed with joy after seeing my favourite family who always brought a smile on my face.

Ron stood off to the side, smiling down as my eyes met his. Ron grew a bit taller, with his ginger hair parted in the middle, with a fluffy bang covering a part of his forehead.

I launched myself at Ron, tightening my grip as he didn't register who I was until my striking burgundy hair grazed his face; he pulled me closer to him. "Missed you so much" He muffles into my curly hair. "Missed you more." I spoke into his shoulder.

Remus cleared his throat, glancing at me with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. I pulled off of Ron and stood next to Uncle Remus, "Right. Everyone, this is my Uncle Remus. This is Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, Percy, Hermione, Mrs. and Mr. Weasley." pointing to each as I said their name, waving at my uncle with a warm smile.

Arthur went and asked the manager if Harry was there, but they informed us that he had left before. So we began our adventure around the long street, starting with gathering new robes for the twins and Ron, who were too tall for their last year robes at Madam Malkin's, Uncle Remus stood beside Arthur, talking about some Muggle inventions we have in the castle. Hermione and I didn't need to get new robes, we weren't having massive growth spurts like the boys. 

Hermione, Ron and I examined the store, waiting for any sight of Harry, but we didn't find him. We then were off to Flourish and Blotts, a whole group of 10 people, strode into the small bookshop and the shop owner gave us a warm smile, ready to help us with whatever we needed.

Ron, Hermione and I began searching around the bookshelves, looking for Harry while Uncle Remus was talking to the bookshop worker, asking for the books I needed on my syllabus .

"No luck." I whisper to the group, who nodded collectively back at me. "Where could he even be?" Ron asked, turning his head back and forth to make a double check we checked everywhere.

We met up with the rest of our group, getting books pressed into our arms as Mrs. Weasley and Uncle Remus gathered all the books for us, Ginny, Fred and George and Percy.

We then were off our way to Ollivander's to fetch Ron a new wand. We watched Ron try out a few different wands, one blew up in his face resulting in he had dirt all over his face, he exchanged a look with me, shrugging at me. I threw my hands over my mouth, my eyes crinkled, laughing at his dirt covered cheeks. Uncle Remus watched the three of us giggling, with a smile. 

"Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair." Ollivander shouted, holding the wand like it was on display. Ron grinned, still with the dirt all over his face, ran up to Hermione and I. "You've got dirt all over your face, Ronald." Hermione pointed out, with a snicker. He used his arm sleeve as a towel to scrub off all the dirt. 

I reached into my moleskin bag, pulling out a handkerchief, and wiped the remaining dirt of his face. His face was flustered as I tucked the handkerchief back in, Hermione laughed at his flustered cheeks.

It was around lunchtime, the three of us decided to go get ice cream while the others wanted to find somewhere else to eat, we parted ways, leaving us three to sit under the bright coloured umbrellas. Hermione had an extra seat for her books, all propped up nicely like it was a baby sitting in a high chair. 

"Hermione, you've got to be joking. The amount of books is unbelievable!" I gasped at the tall stack of books as Hermione's eyes twitched. "Well I-" She began, as Ron jumped out of his seat to scream "Harry!"

Our attention directed towards our friend who looked like a deer in headlights. We all waved frantically at our friend, with huge smiles. "Finally!" Ron said, watching Harry sit down, with a smile. 

"We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blott's, and Madam's Malkins and-" Harry cut him off with a shaking hand. 

"I got all my school stuff last week." Harry explained. "And how did you know I was staying at the Leaky Cauldron?" He observed at the three of us with a raised eyebrow. "Dad." Ron simply said.

"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione said in a serious voice. "Did she float away like a balloon?" I blurted out, causing Ron, Harry and I to roar a laugh. "I didn't mean to," he began to say, with a slight smirk on his face. 

He was trying not to laugh at my joke, knowing Hermione would scold him. "I just...lost control" He followed. 

"It's not funny, Ron. Stop making jokes about serious situations, Rita." She said sharply with a scolding look. "Honestly, I'm amazed Harry wasn't expelled."

"So am I," admitted Harry. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested." He gulped, but I shook my finger. 

"And if that was the case - My parents would've fought for your case, Harry! You know they're a part of the AMC, Accidental Magic Committee, they've dealt with cases like that." A smile appeared on Harry's face, "That's very sweet, but we wouldn't need to go through all that, Fudge let me off, weirdly enough." He turned to Ron, who raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?" Ron was still laughing, but stopped as Harry eyed him.

"Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?" Ron shrugged, chuckling again. "Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can come with us to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione and Rita's there as well!"

Hermione and I nodded, beaming. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things." Hermione added. 

"My Uncle Remus is here as well, the new Hogwarts professor!", I said, still beaming.

"Excellent! So have you all got your books and stuff?" asked Harry happily. I nodded, pulling up the bag of books beside me as Harry smiled excitedly. 

"Look at this." Ron blurted out, carefully pulling out the bulky wood box, taking out his brand-new wand. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books" Ron pointed to his bag of books under the chair. 

"Ron, I already told him that." I muttered as he shrugged, trying to ignore my annoyance. "What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted three."

"It was hysterical." I giggled as Ron smiled at me. "What's all that?" Harry asks, pointing at not one but a bunch of bulging books in the seat beside her. "Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" said Hermione as she began to point and name the books. 

"Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies-" Ron, Harry and I shot into each other's direction, confused looks all over our faces. "What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes at Harry and I. 

"You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!" Ron gaped at me, waiting for me to back him up. "

Hermione is taking that class for an easy grade, obviously. Smart move, Hermione." I proudly smiled at her, she was bound to let loose, after all we are friends with the two biggest slackers, Ron and Harry. Hermione, however, shook her head. 

"Not exactly. It'll be fascinating to study them from a Wizarding point of view, maybe also because I will get a good grade..." She admitted, earning a chuckle from me.

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" Harry asks, earning Ron's loud snicker and my noisy snort. Hermione rolled her eyes, ignoring the three of us. "I still got ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice book?" Ron said innocently. I scoffed at Ron's stupid comment, rolling my eyes at his obvious narky comment, and he looked at me with pursued lips. "No, I don't think so." Hermione said composedly, "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, Rita's got Soupy, you've got Errol-" Ron cut her off, "I haven't." Ron said, "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers." He pulled Scabbers out of his pocket and onto the table. 

"Oh, Scabbers." I mumble, clapping my hands over my mouth. The rat looked thinner than usual, a definite droop in his whiskers. "Yeah, I don't think Egypt agreed with him." I slowly moved my finger out to the rat, who looked up at me with a sick look on his face. I petted him, he felt even thinner than I expected.

"There's a magical creature shop just over there," Harry said, pointing down to a shop, he obviously knew his way around now since he's been staying here for two weeks. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, Hermione can get her owl, and Rita and I could stay for moral support." He smiled, looking at me for approval, I smiled back. 

The waitress finally came around and gave us our ice cream, I got mint chocolate chip, topped off with little chocolate skeletons. It was one of my favorite things in the world, we all quietly ate our ice cream, enjoying the company of one another. As soon as we were done, we crossed the street and walked into the Magical Menagerie.

The shop was very small, covered in cages. It was very smelly and noisy because all the occupants of these cages were squeaking, squawking, jabbering, or hissing. The witch behind the counter was accompanying someone, so the four of us examined each of the cages. 

I slowly walked around the shop, looking up and down at the exotic pets all over the room. There was a cat that looked exactly like Soupy, except she was a blue colored cat and named Belacriez. The witch soon left the shop, signaling us with the ring of the bell that hung over the door.

Ron approached the counter, I followed standing behind him. "It's my rat. He's been a bit off-color ever since I brought him back from Egypt." He told the witch. "Bang him on the counter." The witch said, pulling a heavy black pair of spectacles out of her pocket. 

He lifted Scabbers from his pocket, placing him next to a cage of rats who stopped skipping around and watched.

Scabbers was definitely a bit battered, he's been around since Percy was a first year. "Hm." The witch picked up Scabbers to get a better look at him, "How old is the rat?"

Ron shrugged, "Dunno. Quite Old. He used to belong to my brother." The witch lifted her eyes up at Ron, then back at Scabbers. "What powers does he have?" She asks, examining Scabbers. 

"Eh-" Ron tensed up, turning to me with a help-me-look on his face, I walked up beside him, smiling at the witch. "He's been through the mill, this one." she said. Ron immediately got annoyed, he tensed up and shook his head. 

"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," Ron defensively said, he exchanged a glance with me. "An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live longer than three years or so. Now, if you were looking for something a bit more hand-wearing, you might like one of these." The witch pointed over to the rats that began skipping again. "Show-offs Ron muttered and the witch widened her eyes.

"Not quite. Do you have anything we could use on the poor little guy?" I spoke in a soft tone, hoping she would be a bit nicer to me, while resting my fingertips on the counter. "Sure. I mean, well, if you don't want a replacement, you can try this small tonic" The witch went behind the counter, reading and searching for the small bottle of the red tonic. 

She placed it on the counter, it was a bit tiny. "Okay," Ron said, then shouting as an orange and huge ball of fur came soaring from the ceiling, landing on Ron's head, and then spitting at Scabbers. 

"No Crookshanks, no!" The witch cried, trying to grab Scabbers, but he shot straight out of her hands, shooting off the counter and scampering out the door.

This, however, caught Hermione's attention. Harry and Ron ran after Scabbers out in the street, but Hermione and I stayed in the shop and watched the witch start to scold the orange cat. 

"What's his name?" She asked, watching the witch raise her eyebrows. "You want Crookshanks? Even after he chased after your friend's rat?" Hermione nodded, petting the fluffy ginger cat who purred as Hermione petted it. The cat was practically Soupy's size, but its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed as if Crookshanks had run into a brick wall. 

"I think he's gorgeous, isn't he?" She gazed over at me, waiting for me to reply. I reached my hand out to Crookshanks, who happily purred as I pet his soft and fluffy fur. "He's handsome." I giggle, as Hermione asked for the price of the cat. 

"Nobody ever wanted Crookshanks, he's been here for ages. I'm gracious he finally will be getting a home." She grinned widely as Hermione handed her 10 galleons, the witch exchanged the galleons and placed Crookshanks in Hermione's arms. We squeaked, taking turns petting Crookshanks as we strolled out of Magical Menagerie. The boys approached us with Ron's smile turning into a frown.

"You bought that monster?" Ron's mouth hung, watching the two of us happily pet Crookshanks who purred calmly. "He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione glowing. 

"Don't be shallow, Ronald. Crookshanks and you got off to a bad start, I know he didn't mean any harm. " I reassured Ron, who was gaping, our motives shocked him. "Rita, Hermione, That thing nearly scalped me!"

"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" Hermione pets the cat, as it purs happily in Hermione's arms. "And what about Scabbers?" Ron pointed to the bulge in his chest pocket, trying to convince the two of us. 

"He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?" Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron, trying to ignore his shouts. 

"Soupy and Crookshanks are going to be good friends, both cat-kneazles, both attacked Scabbers," Hermione teased as while Ron's tip of his ears brightened with red, darting between me and Hermione.

"Crookshanks won't be next to Scabbers, he and Soupy will get along fine. Also," I reached into my pocket, slapping the rat tonic into Ron's hands. "You forgot this." He shifted the rat tonic quickly into his pockets, but Hermione still wanted to acknowledge her point. 

"Stop worrying, Ronald. Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem? Poor Crookshanks, that witch told us he'd been in there for ages; nobody wanted him." Hermione cooed, bopping her nose with Crookshanks. 

"I wonder why." Ron muttered sarcastically under his breath. We set off back to the Leaky Cauldron, with our heavy bags of books and supplies.

Mr. Weasley and Uncle Remus sat next to each other, reading the Daily Prophet. "Harry! How are you?" Mr. Weasley smiles, looking up at the boy. "Fine, thanks", Harry said, as we all joined the pair at their table. 

Sirius Black was on the back of the Daily Prophet, the moving picture of him shouting into the camera, it was horrific. "They still haven't caught him yet?" Harry asked, Uncle Remus and Arthur's faces looked extremely grave, staring blankly at Harry. The two of them must have some knowledge about it, but weren't telling any of us, I just knew it.

"No, they've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far." Mr. Weasley's voice was shaky as Ron's face brightened up. 

"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" asked Ron, "It'd be good to get some more money" His father swatted his hand ferociously, strained over Ron's question. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen year old wizard. It's the Azkaban's guards who'll get him back, you mark my words."

Uncle Remus was awfully quiet from all this, I began to open my mouth to question, but Mrs. Weasley stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, followed by Fred and George, who were now fifth years, Head Boy Prefect Percy, and of course the only girl along the siblings, Ginny.

Percy made his way towards Harry, solemnly reaching his hand out to him. "Harry. How nice to see you." Ron and I tried hard to fight back our laughter, but Uncle Remus's glare suddenly stopped me from laughing. 

"Hello, Percy." Harry spoke strained, trying his hardness to not stifle a chuckle. "I hope you're well?" Percy said in a monotone voice, like he was meeting the mayor. "Very well, thanks"

The twins elbowed their way in front of Harry, Percy scoffed at the two who pushed him away. "Harry! Simply splendid to see you, old boy", Fred bowed deeply at Harry, and spoke in the same voice Percy had, I clapped my hand over my mouth, snorting into my hand. 

George pushed Fred to the side, seizing Harry's hand. "Marvelous. Absolutely spiffing." George spoke in the same mocking voice as Percy scowled over to his mother. "That's enough, now." said Mrs. Weasley, rolling her eyes at her two lanky sons. 

"Mum!" Fred shouted, pretending to only lay eyes on his mum, he seized her hand, "How really corking to see you," She bolted her hand back, "I said, that's enough." She scolded the pair, placing her shopping in an empty chair. 

"Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to Percy's silver badge on his vest, which he smiled with pride. "Second Head Boy in the family!" She swelled with pride.

"And last." Fred muttered to me, under his breath. "I don't doubt that. I notice they haven't made you two prefects." Her smile turned to a frown, looking at the two boys beside me, darting at the two. 

"What do we be prefects for? It'd take all the fun out of life." George said, revolted at the idea of being a prefect. Ginny and I giggled at the two idiots, who had smirks on their faces. "You want to set a better example for your sister! Right now, kids who aren't even mine are setting an example for Ginny! Harry, Hermione and Rita, of course." She grinned at the three of us as Ron's mouth hung at his mum. 

"Ginny's got her eldest brother, mother. I'm going up to change for dinner." Percy loftily said, departing from us and up the stairs.

George heaved a sigh, "We tried to shut him in a pyramid, but Mum spotted us..." He told me and Harry as the two of us chuckled. Soon enough, we all went up to our rooms, beginning to change for dinner. 

I changed into a black tight shirt and a jean skirt, topped off with shiny black high top boots that Uncle Remus bought me for Christmas. I kissed Soupy goodbye, petting her as she purred, laying on the bed on her belly. Uncle Remus and I went downstairs, everyone was down there, drinking tea as we began to eat through a five course meal.

I sat between Hermione and Ron, where Hermione kept talking about my outfits, how she always loved my fashion style but will never share my clothes because she feels that's too invading. "Hermione, my clothes, are your clothes. You can wear whatever, I promise you can." 

She shook her finger, "I appreciate that, but it's invading." I scoffed, shoving a spoonful of mash into my mouth. Ron buzzed in my ear all about Egypt, the pyramids, the mummies, and how Bill showed him all around. 

Uncle Remus broke out of his shell, telling everyone a story about one of his adventures from around the world. Uncle Remus didn't have any family besides mine, and his dad, so he spent his time around different countries and embracing different lifestyles.

"How're we getting to Kings Cross tomorrow, Dad?" Fred asks, as he digs into a slide of the chocolate pudding. 

The chocolate pudding was scrumptious, Ron kept digging into my chocolate pudding, shovelling scoops into his mouth. "Ron!" I groan, reaching over his arm to scoop some of his pudding into my mouth.

I chewed it obnoxiously into Ron's ear as he followed, chewing it even louder into my ear. Uncle Remus laughed at the two of us, staring at each other chewing in each other's ears. 

"The Ministry's providing us a couple of cars." said Mr. Weasley. The two of us stopped chewing, raising our eyebrows at each other, next at Mr. Weasley.

"Why?" Percy asked curiously. "It's because of you, Perce, and there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-" George seriously said, I almost choked on my pudding, swallowing it and directing my attention back to the twins. "For Humongous Bighead." Fred said, as we all snorted into our puddings. 

Mrs. Weasley, Uncle Remus and Percy looked at all of us with a glare in their eyes. "Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked in a dignified voice to stand his ground.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore, and I work there, they're doing me a favor", Mr. Weasley spoke in a casual tone, but his ears were bright red, Ron did that too whenever he was nervous. Harry and I both noticed the two of us knew something was up, giving each other a look, talk-later-expression. 

"Good thing, too." said Mr. Weasley briskly. "Do you've all got between you? A nice sight, you'd be on the Muggle Underground.... You are all packed, aren't you?" He asked, as we all nodded, but Percy spoke up. 

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk, yet. He's dumped them on my bed." He spoke in a long-suffering voice, which Ron pouted at his brother with pure annoyance. "You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning." Mrs. Weasley called down the table as Ron scowled at Percy.

Dinner was far by done when, everyone went up stairs to check their things. Walking upstairs, the twins called for me down by the landing of the corridor. I approached the two who were snickering and cackling at what they did. "Before dinner, we took something of Percy's, rather prized possession." George chuckled, trying to keep his voice down. 

"Percy's Head Boy badge. The storm is only about to begin. " He showed me the badge in his hand that now reads Bighead Boy. Bursting out into laughter, I held the badge into my hand. "This is incredible." I snickered as Fred quickly stuffed the badge into his pocket.

"Do you hear that?" He whispered, pointing at Ron and Percy's room up the stairs. Muffled sounds of clatter and shouting were heard from the two boys' room. The three of us burst into laughter again, trying their hardest to make out what Percy was saying.

Harry came down moments after, staring at the three of us. "We've got it." Fred heaved with laughter, showing him the badge. "We've been improving it." We all snickered, huddled together as I noticed Harry forced a laugh. Harry waved and then scurried up the stairs, leaving the three of us in the shadows.

Percy swung the door of his room open, stomping down the passage. The three of us ran down one of the corridors on the first floor, stepping behind Tom's counter. We all ducked and peeked our eyes up to see where Percy was.

Percy searched around the room, under the chairs, under the tables, and finally behind the bar. As he squatted behind the bar, the three of us silently ran up the passage.

"Fred drop the badge in front of the door, he'll think he was forgetful and dropped it." I softly whispered, pointing to the door of Ron and Percy's room. Fred dropped it suddenly.

The two scurried off, waving, dashing off to their room. I slammed the door behind me, noticing Uncle Remus playing with Soupy on his bed. "Look who came to join us, done with your silly shenanigans?" He smiled, petting Soupy's head as she meowed, looking up at me with twinkling eyes.

I flopped down on my bed, face planting into the pillows. "Long night." I yawn, kicking my shoes off my feet. I pulled the blankets over me, immediately sleeping as I shut my eyes.


	2. back to hogwarts

Tom, the hotel keeper, came into our rooms with a platter of crumpets and tea with a toothless grin. He closed the door as Uncle Remus got up, sitting on one of the black armchairs grabbing one of the cups of tea. He quietly sipped the tea, not saying a word. 

I shifted out of bed, smashing my glasses onto my face and trudged into the bathroom.

Slipping into one of my comfy jumpers and a straight pair of jeans, I yawned while staring at myself in the mirror. I threw a hand up in the air, watching my reflection copy me; I let out a small giggle.

"Rita," Uncle Remus called from outside of the bathroom. "I got you a present. Whenever you're dressed, come out and try this out." I unlocked the door, peeking my head out to discover a box in his hands. "Come." 

I approached him, pressing the box into my hands. I opened it, revealing contacts in a plastic box.

"Uncle Remus, what if I look horrid without my glasses." I gulp, as his eyebrows furrowed. 

"Never say such nonsense, you are beautiful, Rita Pita. Now, go on, try them out." He pushed me back into the bathroom. 

Taking them out of the packing, I carefully put the left onto the tip of my pointer, trying to get it in my left eye. I poked my eye several times, but after many failures, I managed to get it in my eye. 

The other eye was a breeze, I plopped it right in. I blinked frantically, as my eyes shed a few tears. The burn finally stopped, allowing me to get a closer view of my face.

My brown eyes were now much bigger than they appeared, I studied my face, and finally came to the conclusion, I didn't look as bad as I imagined. I grabbed the box and my glasses, shifting it into my trunk.

We were all packed, and ready to go. Soupy sat groggily in her wickercraft, meowing angrily at us from behind the bars. Smacks came from outside the door, Uncle Remus peeped into the peephole to see ginger and raven hair, smacking the door.

"Harry and Ron." He patted my shoulder, turning to finish his tea and allowing me to open the door. I opened the door with a soft smile on my cheeks. 

"Wow, Rita. You got no glasses now." Harry gaped, pointing at me. "You look nice without your glasses." Ron complimented me, clearing his throat.

"Come on, Mr. Lupin, Rita. We're having breakfast before we set off." Ron said, leading the three of us down the passage and down the stairs. Harry and Ron nudged each other, glancing at me with weird looks in their eyes.

I ran over to Hermione and Ginny, sitting in between them as Mrs. Weasley started to tell us a story about a love potion she had done when she was younger. She began to tell us how she made the love potion, in the 3rd floor bathroom. She was rather happy at the result, but she explained how deeply dangerous it could be. 

She continued happily after that brief warning, telling us how one of her old boyfriends fell in love after the love potion. We were giddy and giggly. The three of us began chatting about how excited we were for the new year, Hermione and I being 3rd years, Ginny going into her second year.

Ron and Harry took a seat directly across from the three of us, Harry stared at the newspaper down in front of us. "Egypt, what's it like?" He said, staring down at the moving picture of the Weasleys in Egypt. 

"Brilliant, lots of old stuff like mummies, tombs, even Scabbers enjoyed himself." Ron replied, holding the rat that was now sort of normal, he didn't look as sick as he did yesterday. "You know the Egyptians used to worship cats?" Hermione hissed, smirking at me with a glare in her eyes. 

"Yeah? Along with the Dung Beetle." Ron snapped, as Harry stifled a smirk on his face.

"Not flashing a clipping again, are you Ron?" George snickered, walking down the stairs. "I haven't shown anyone." Ron lied as George snapped the paper from Ron. "No, not a soul." Fred giggled, walking around the table to sit beside Hermione and I. 

"What about Tom?" George asked. "Goodday mate," Fred cackled, "Goodnight mate," George giggled. "The cook, fixes the toilet." Fred says as they both sit down across from us. "And he's just a Wizard from Belgium!" George stifled a smirk as he sat beside me, pushing the newspaper in front of me.

"Was Egypt fun?" I ask, watching the Weasleys wave and smile in the picture. "Loads, we went all over Egypt." Fred admired, glancing over his shoulder to see what I think of the picture. 

"This picture, we were all dressed in Egyptian attire, and we went around and looked at all the sights. Excellent, actually." George said, pointing at the moving picture on the newspaper. 

Molly Weasley came hurrying down the stairs, placing the menu in front of the three of us. "Order. We don't have much time."

We hurried up with breakfast, then automatically fetching the trunks from our rooms and heaving them down the stairs. Mr. Weasley stood outside the Leaky Cauldron, waiting for the cars to pull up. We piled the narrow staircase with our heavy luggage, on top Hedwig, Soupy, Hermes, and Crookshanks. 

"Finally Soupy and Crookshanks can meet, it's not ideal as of right now, but soon on the train." Hermione cooed the rattled cat, petting him through the bars of the wickercraft. "We'll let them out on the train." She smiled at me, still petting the cat.

"You won't." Ron snapped at the two of us, he pointed to the lump in his chest pocket that shifted around. "He'll be fine. Crookshanks and Soupy will be too fond of each other to pay attention to Scabbers." I snapped back, petting Soupy who purred. 

"Better not." He scoffed at me, as his father poked his head inside. "They're here." Uncle Remus came from the stairs, standing off to the side waiting for his que. 

"Harry, come on." He marched Harry away from us, as Uncle Remus escorted Ron, Hermione and I to the same car. Harry was already in the car, followed by Hermione, Ron and I with Uncle Remus as the last one.

The ride to Kings Cross was definitely uneventful. Hermione, Ron, Harry and I were quiet for most of the ride, Remus was too busy trying to keep himself awake.

The radio was blasting Radiohead, House of Cards, throughout the speakers, I closed my eyes and tried to imagine myself discreetly the way the music spoke.

The Ministry cars blended in well, though they could slide into tiny gaps that most Muggle cars can't. We reached Kings Cross with twenty minutes to spare, the Ministry drivers went and got us trolleys, unloaded our trunks and touched their hats to salute Mr. Weasley, and drove away. 

Mr. Weasley kept close to Harry, pushing him to the compartment, while the four of us walked, watching the crazy Muggles scram around. "Right then," Mr. Weasley said, glancing around at us. 

"Let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go first with Harry." He and Harry leaned on the barrier of platform 9 ¾ trying to act as normal as they could, falling into the barrier only seconds later. Percy and Ginny went next, then Uncle Remus and I.

Soon enough all the Weasleys and Hermione joined us, Hermione quickly caught up to me. Ron and Harry led the way to one of the last compartments, stowing our luggage into it, Soupy, Hedwig and Crookshanks into the luggage racks.

We went back outside to say goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Mrs. Weasley kissed all her children, Hermione, me, then Harry. 

"Please stay well, darling. Also, you look beautiful with your contacts", She kindly said, kissing my cheeks, grinning widely. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Stay well." I smile, watching her let go and approach Harry.

She opened her enormous handbag, pulling out a stack of sandwiches, handing them out to all of us with a smile. "Here you are, Ron, Ron, no, they're not corned beef, Rita, Hermione, Ginny, Percy, George, Fred? Where's Fred? Here you are, dear.... Remus, yes Remus, Take it." We all waved and smiled at Mrs. Weasley, while boarding the train. 

Ginny, Ron, Hermione and I walked into the corridor of the back compartments, which Uncle Remus sped quickly in, settling down in one of the back compartments. I stood next to Hermione, beside me, with a blank expression on her face.

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked as the guards started to slam close all the compartment doors. He peeked outside the window, seeing Harry run toward the door, Ron ran to the compartment door and threw it open for Harry. Harry jumped on, and shut the door loudly, as we all leaned outside the window, waving to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley until the train turned a corner, and we couldn't see them anymore. 

"I need to talk to you, in private." Harry muttered to Hermione, Ron and I while the train began to speed up. 

"Go away, Ginny." Ron said, as Ginny's mouth gaped at her older brother. "Oh, that's nice." She huffily said, stalking off.

We set off to the very back of the train, settling in the only open compartment with Remus snoozing off on the window. "Really, Rita? We have to go on the one with your Godfather?" scoffed Ron, sitting down opposite of him. 

"Shut up, Ron." I hissed, throwing up my hand to slap his shoulder. 

"Rita, he looks ill. We should let him sleep." Hermione advised, resting in the seat beside me with a book in her hand.

"You think he's fit for the job? No offense, looks like one hex would finish him off, doesn't he?" Ron stared at my godfather, examining him with his shabby robes, and peeling luggage. 

"Ronald, Uncle Remus is extremely skilled and talented, stop making assumptions of him! You're being shallow, now piss off." I snapped as he narrowed his eyes. 

"Anyway, what were you going to tell us?" He turned to Harry.

Harry took a deep breath and explained Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's argument he overheard, and Mr. Weasley's warning. Ron looked thunderstruck, Hermione's hands were over her mouth, my eyes widened and my jaw hung. We were all completely caught off guard with this situation. 

Hermione lowered her hands, "Sirius Black escaped to come after you? Oh, Harry... You'll have to be really, really careful. Don't go looking for trouble, Harry..."

"I don't go looking for trouble, trouble usually finds me." Harry said, nettled. "Harry, this is so much to pack in. How are you feeling?" I gawked, shakily looking at him. 

"No one knows how he got out of Azkaban, no one's done it before. And he was a top security prisoner, too." Ron said, uncomfortably. 

"He's probably hiding somewhere top secret." I added. A chill ran through my spine as I jumped at the feeling. 

"But they'll catch him, won't they? I mean, they got all the Muggles, looking out for him too..." Hermione trailed off, a faint noise suddenly shrieked from Harry's trunk.

"What's that noise?" Ron leaned over to me, trying to see if I heard it too. A faint, sudden whistle noise came from Harry's luggage. "I hear it, too." I pointed out, standing up with Ron searching the compartment for the certain tinny whistle. 

I pointed at the faint whistle that seemed like it was coming from Harry's bag, "It's coming from your trunk, Harry." he said, reaching into the luggage rack.

He yanked the Sneakoscope from in between his robes. He held the twisting and turning Sneakoscope in his hands that glowed brilliantly, leaning towards me to show me the sight. I moved a bit closer to him, his ears turned bright red as I shifted close. 

"Is that a Sneakoscope?" Hermione asks, interestedly. She stood up, leaning beside me for a closer look. 

"Yeah..." He shook the blush out of his face, "Mind you, it's a very cheap one. It went haywire just as I was tying it to Errol's leg to send it to Harry."

Hermione and I exchanged a look, a raised eyebrow and wide eyes look. "Were you doing anything untrustworthy?" Hermione asked shrewdly, with a glare in her eyes. 

"No! Well... I wasn't supposed to be using Errol. You know, he's not really up to long journeys... but how else was I supposed to get Harry's present to him?" Ron whimpered, watching the two of us have a shrewd look in our eyes.

"Maybe that's the reason, don't you think so?" I scoff, as Ron rolled his eyes at the two of us. "Stick it back in the trunk, or it'll wake Remus up." Harry advised, nodding toward Professor Lupin.

Ron stuffed the Sneakoscope back into Harry's trunk and slammed the lid on it. This deadened the sound, and we returned to our seats. "We should get it checked out in Hogsmeade. They sell that sort of thing in Dervish and Banges, magical instruments and stuff. Fred and George told me." Ron said, resting his hands on the back of his head. 

"Oh, Hogsmeade! I haven't been there in years, Mum, Dad, and Remus used to take me on weekends. Brilliant, truly." I gleamed, remembering the exciting weekends of Hogsmeade with my family. 

"Do you know much about Hogsmeade?" Hermione darted between Ron and I with a keen look in her eye. "I've read it's the only entirely non-Muggle settlement in Britain-"

"Yeah," Ron and I both said. Ron sounded more back-handed than me but I spoke cheerfully. "Hogsmeade is full of incredible wizards, witches all gathered in a huge shopping arrangement. It's an amazing sight, you'll enjoy it." I cheerfully said, surveying between both Harry and Hermione as Ron grinned widely. 

"But that's not why I want to go. I just want to get inside of Honeydukes! You know Honeydukes, right?" He whipped his head to me, with a twinkle in his eye. 

"Honeydukes...can that be our first stop?" I ask, imagining the stacks full of candy all over the store. "Yes-" Ron giddily said before Hermione gave us a look of confusion.

"What's that?" said Hermione. "It's this sweetshop, where they've got everything...Pepper Imps- they make you smoke at the mouth - and great fat Chocoballs full of strawberry mousse and clotted cream, and really excellent sugar quills, which you can suck in class and just look like you're thinking what to write next-" He said with a dreamy look coming over his face. 

"We need to get the Exploding bonbons, they explode when eaten." I pointed out to Ron who nodded, slowly still picturing his dream land in his head.

"But Hogsmeade is a very interesting place, isn't it?" Hermione pressed on eagerly, looking at the two of us. "In Sites of Historical Sorcery it says the inn was the headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion, and the Shrieking Shack's supposed to be the most severely haunted in Britain-" She said, looking at the two of us with a stern look.

"- and massive sherbet balls that make you levitate a few inches off the ground while you're sucking on them, want to try them out when we arrive there?" Ron grinned. 

"Yes, of course," I excitedly said, as Hermione scoffed at the two of us who ignored her.

"Won't it be nice to get out of school for a bit of fun and explore Hogsmeade?' Hermione turned over to Harry, who had a glum look on his face. 

"Spect it will, you'll have to tell me when you've found out." He heavily said, Ron's face turning to a pout. 

"What'd you mean?" Ron asks, looking at his best friend. "I can't go. The Dursleys didn't sign my permission form, Fudge wouldn't either." My smile slowly turned to a frown, crossing my arms across my chest.

"You're not allowed to come? But - no way - McGonagall or someone will give you permission -" Ron horrifiedly said, trying to come up with solutions for Harry to spend time with us. Harry laughed at his suggestion for our strict Head of House to allow Harry to go, especially with Sirius Black on the loose. Looking for Harry, specifically. 

"- or, or, we can ask Fred and George, they know every secret passage out of the castle -" Ron pushed his ideas to us, but we knew they wouldn't work. "Ron," I quietly said, shaking my head at him. 

"Ron!" Hermione sharply shouted, cutting me off. "I don't think Harry should be sneaking out of school with Black on the loose -" Harry rolled his eyes, he knew Hermione was right. She was always right. 

"Yeah, I expect that's what McGonagall will say when I ask for permission." Harry bitterly said. 

"But if we're with him, Black wouldn't dare." Ron spiritedly said, looking at the two of us with wiggling eyebrows. 

"Don't talk nonsense, Ronald." I blurted out, trying to get out my words before Hermione scolded them. "We're only freshly new teenagers! We don't know a pinch of spells compared to him!"

Hermione nodded in agreement, beginning to snap out at Ron, "Rita is telling the truth whether you two like it or not. Black already murdered a whole bunch of people in the middle of a crowded street. Do you really think he's going to worry about attacking Harry just because we're there?" She snapped, fumbling with the straps of Crookshanks basket. 

Soupy was fast asleep, in her basket. I began to reach for Soupy, to take her out before Ron screamed, "Don't let that thing out!" Ron cried, but Crookshanks and Soupy jumped out of their baskets, onto Ron.

Crookshanks sprang into Ron's knees while Soupy laid across Ron's shoulders. The lump in Ron's chest pocket, trembled as the two cats excitedly rubbed on Ron. He threw Crookshanks off his legs, "Get out of here!" Crookshanks jumped safely onto the table, climbing onto the empty seat on our side. 

"Ron, why would you hurt Crookshanks! He was only trying to be friendly! You seem to only like Soupy, look at her!" She angrily pointed out as Ron froze, shaking Soupy off of him.

"Soupy, come here." I grabbed my cat, placing her nicely next to Crookshanks. The two of them studied each other, sniffing and putting their paws out to greet one another. 

Ron angrily grunted, but the two of us' moods changed as we saw our two cats suddenly cuddled up in a ball, sleeping peacefully. Remus stirred, his mouth slightly open as he changed positions.

At one o'clock, the plump witch, pushing the food cart, arrived at our compartment door. "Rita, D'you think we should wake him up? He looks like he could do with some food." Ron awkwardly asked, nodding towards my fast asleep godfather. 

"Uncle Remus, Uncle? Remus?" I said, poking at his shaggy robes. He didn't move an inch. 

"Don't worry, dear, if he's hungry when he wakes, I'll be up front with the driver." She handed Harry a stack of Cauldron cakes.

"I suppose he is asleep? I mean - he hasn't died, has he?" Ron's eyes moved to the angry glare in my eyes. "He's breathing, you git!" I whisper-shouted at the boy who sank back into his seat with an taken back look,

"Excuse me for being worried. You're mad." Ron scoffed, turning his head to the window where the rows of hills only increased. Harry giggled, passing me a Cauldron cake. 

Soon after, the rain started to pour, blurring the rolling hills outside the window with tiny pitpats hitting the ceiling. We heard loud footsteps in our corridor, when our least favourite appeared at our door.

Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. "Well, look who it is, Potty and the Weasel. Oh look, the Mudblood and Rita Shrew are there too." He said, leaning on the compartment door with his usual lazy drawl. 

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled devilishly behind the slim boy. "Draco." I clenched my jaw, staring at the lanky pale greasy boy with his troll goons behind him.

Draco and I had sprouted beef in our first year, when he came up to me in Charms asking to be partners. I, being the naive and scared little girl I was, accepted his offer. 

Wildly, Draco and I had gotten along in our first year; until he began insulting Ron's poverty, Harry's whole entire existence and Hermione being muggleborn. He insulted three people, I cared for, which didn't sit right with me, therefore leading to our fall of friendship.

"Don't you dare-" I hissed, standing up in Draco's face as the look in his eyes turned from smug to fear. Ron stood up beside me so quickly he threw the pile of baskets off the seat and hit the floor. 

Ron stood beside me, breathing heavily and glaring down at Malfoy. Remus let out a snort. Draco took an automatic step backward when he spotted Remus. A wicked thought came into my mind, which clearly came to Harry's too.

"New teacher. Now, what were you saying, Malfoy?" He stood in the middle of us. Malfoy's eyes narrowed, as he realized who the teacher was, my godfather. He wasn't a fool to pick a fight when a teacher was around, but not a bigger fool to pick a fight with the teacher's goddaughter. 

"C'mon." Malfoy muttered resentfully to his goons, disappearing from the door. 

"What did I tell you about Malfoy, it's better to ignore him. Yes, he's a dirty, scolding, foul little goblin, but it's better to just ignore." Hermione said, raising an eyebrow to me as I sat down beside her. 

"Hermione, he deserves -" I began to say as Ron massaged his knuckles, butting into our conversation. 

"I'm not going to take any crap from Malfoy this year, I mean it. If he makes one more crack about my family, about either of you. I'm going to get a hold of his head and -" Ron angrily said, violently gesturing his fight with Malfoy. Remus again let out a snort, the four of us stared blankly at each other. 

"Ron, Rita, be careful...just because he knows us doesn't mean he will let us off free." She hissed. But Remus was still fast asleep.

The rain began to thicken, while the train sped a bit faster. The windows were now a shimmering, shade of grey which gradually darkened as the lanterns flickered into life along the corridors and luggage racks. The windows rattled, the wind roared, the rain hammered upon us, but Uncle Remus was fast asleep. 

"We must be nearly there," Ron said, leaning against the black window. The words just left his mouth as the train began to slow down. "Great," Ron stood up and walked carefully past Remus to get a better look outside. "I'm starving. I want to get to the feast..." A gut feeling in my stomach made me believe we weren't exactly there yet. 

"Ron, I don't believe we're there yet... Maybe the Sneakoscope was warning us about this..." I slowly said, trying to look around the room for any signs of what was going on. Hermione's face turned into a fear filled face. 

"We can't be there yet, so why're stopping?" She darted between the black window and her watch, trying to find the meaning.

The train stopped, slower and slower, the rain and the wind sounded louder than it was before, hitting the window. Harry peeked his head through the door to see the corridor full of peeking heads. The train came to a jolted stop, the luggage fell abruptly from the racks, the lamps went out, and we were now stuck in total darkness. 

I grabbed Soupy and Crookshanks, clasping them tightly to my chest. "This isn't happening, I hate the dark." I whispered to myself, speaking into the fur coats of the two cats. 

"What's going on?" Ron's voice called from behind Harry. Hermione shifted closer to me, huddling into my shoulders. 

"Ouch!" Hermione gasped, slapping the leg that stepped on her foot. The two boys grunted as they both sat down, asking repeated questions. 

"D'you think we've broken down?" Ron's voice echoed through the compartment. "Dunno." Harry shakily said.

A squeaky noise filled the compartment when a patch of dim light shined through the compartment. An outline of Ron, wiping a spot of the window to see what was going on. "There's something moving out there, I think people are coming aboard..." 

A shiver flew through my body as I slightly squealed into the cats. "Don't you dare lie to me, Ronnie. I'm going to lose my mind if you're playing a joke..." I shakily said, as the cats meowed innocently in my ears. 

"I promise, especially when you're all shaken up about it..." The compartment door slid open, a loud thud hit the ground.

"Sorry." The voice cracked, it was Neville, "D'you know what's going on? Ouch! - sorry-" It sounded as Neville got up and Harry confirmed it was Neville with a slight, "Hello, Neville." "Harry? Is that you? What's happening?"

"No idea - sit down." Neville sits in the open seat next to Hermione . "I'm going to go and ask the driver what's going on." She patted my shoulders, feeling her way out of the compartment. 

"Rita?" Neville called, poking the side of my arm. "Hi Neville. Are you alright?" My voice filled the room, two loud thuds sounded in front of the door. Hermione and Ginny were outside. 

"Come in and sit down -" Hermione said, sliding the door open. Ginny began to sit on top of what it seemed as Harry, "Not here! I'm here!" He hurriedly said. 

"Quiet." A hoarse voice spoke suddenly. His shabby robes rubbing against mine hinted Remus was now finally up. A low, crackling noise and a gleaming flame sprouted from his hands, he moved it around to notice the group of children in his then empty compartment.

"Stay where you are." He spoke, slowly getting to his feet to open the door. It seemed as the door was sliding open before Remus could touch it.

The fire illuminated a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was hidden beneath its hood. The glistening, shining dull light creature stood in the hallway, with its hand making an appearance out from the cloak. 

Hermione, Ginny and I quickly closed our eyes holding one another as we heard a loud thud hitting the floor. Uncle Remus stood over Harry, pulling his wand out casting a silent spell. The doorway filled with complete whiteness, the figure now away. 

"Harry!" Ron said, falling down, hovering over Harry's body. Hermione fell on the floor as I rushed over to where Uncle Remus was standing.

"Harry! Harry!" I shouted in his face, slapping him hardly. The lanterns finally sprinted back to life, and the train started to move again. "Harry!" I called again as my friends were whimpering and shaking the defenseless boy.

I slapped his face once harder as his eyes shot open. "Are you all right?" I let out a deep sigh, I threw my arms around him and hugged him softly. Ron, Hermione and I heaved Harry back to his seat, he was pale, he looked just as ill as Remus did before. 

"Are you okay?" Ron asked nervously, sitting down to his friend.

"Yeah." Harry bluntly said, shooting his head to the doorway. "What happened? Where's that - that thing? Who screamed?" I looked at Harry with a confused but nervous look on my face, what was he saying? 

"No one screamed." Ron said, still worked up from the fright of Harry. Harry scanned around the room, confused, but we all stared at him with pale and worried eyes. "But I heard screaming -"

A small snap came from Uncle Remus' chocolate bar, breaking it into small pieces followed by a colossal one. "Here, Harry, take the big piece. Eat it. It'll help." He handed out the pieces of chocolate to each of us in the compartment. I took a bite of the piece and felt the colour in my face regain. 

"Thank you, uncle?" I questioned, tilting my head to see if I was allowed to call him my uncle during school. "Professor Lupin, it's got a ring to it!" He smiled down at me, plopping a piece of chocolate in his mouth.

"What was that thing?" Harry asked, turning towards Remus. "A dementor, one of the dementors from Azkaban." Remus said, as my head turned towards him. I stopped chewing once he said Azkaban... that could only mean one thing... Remus crumpled up the wrapper of the chocolate, putting it in his pocket. 

"Eat. It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me, I'll be back soon." Remus spoke, leaving us to the corridor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, whose eyes were plastered on Harry. "You still look pale, Harry. What's on your mind?" I ask, looking directly at my friend. 

"Erm, see, I don't get it... What happened?" He used his sleeve as a napkin to wipe the sweat off his forehead, he clearly wasn't okay. 

"Well - that thing - the dementor - stood there and looked around... I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face, - and you - you -" Hermione nervously spoke, still shaken up from the terrible image of Harry on the floor. 

"I thought you were having a fit or something, You were sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching -" Ron said, still scared. "And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the dementor, and pulled out his wand." Hermione said, 

"And he said, 'None of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go! But the dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something-," Ron said, 

"And a silvery, whitish veil shot of his wand at it, and it glided away from us. Then we all jumped to our feet and saw you on the floor... I slapped you a few times to wake you up... I'm sorry..." I finished our explanation as Harry sat there in shock.

"No, of course. Thank you for waking me up, Rita." He reassured me it was all right, nodding. "It was horrible, did you feel how cold it got when it came in?" Neville shook, he spoke in a higher tone than usual. 

"I felt weird, like I'd never be cheerful again..." Ron shifted his shoulders uncomfortably at the thought. Ginny let out a small sob, Hermione and I threw our arms over her, trying to comfort the upset and anxious girl. 

"But didn't any of us - fall off your seats?" Harry asked awkwardly. "No, Ginny was shaking like mad though..." Ron stared at Harry anxiously while Ginny cried a bit harder in our arms. 

"It's gone now, Gin." I repeated, trying to calm her down as she sniffled and regained stability. 

Remus slid open the door, smiling at all of us, "I haven't poisoned the chocolate, you know..."

Harry and Ginny finished their chocolate and immediately felt better. "We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you all right, Harry?" Remus asks as the boy slowly nodded his head. "Fine." He muttered embarrassedly.

The rest of the short journey to Hogwarts, we stood in silence to regather our thoughts and try and calm down from the scary dementor attack. The train stopped at the Hogsmeade station, I grabbed my luggage from the luggage rack, Soupy and her basket, and walked beside Hermione out of the train.

We were greeted with a familiar raspy voice, "Firs' years this way!" The four of us turned to see an outline of a huge man, Hagrid, with the nervous first years who scurried to view the terrible Great Lake. 

"All righ', you four?" Hagrid yelled over the heads of the crowd, we all smiled and waved at him. We were about to make our way to start a conversation before we got engulfed in the mass of people around us.

The four of us followed the rest of the school along the platform out onto a mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the students, they each pulled ominously. Making our way onto the coach, it smelt faintly like straw and mold, I kept taking a double peek at Harry to check if he was all right. 

Noticing some tension, and to make the ride a little less terrible with a little song, "House of Cards" by Radiohead. Bopping my head back and forth, to the song in my head the three stared at me.

"Again? I wonder how many songs are implanted into your little brain..." Ron jokes, a smile sprouted on his face as I closed my eyes and hummed the song. 

"Can't a girl sing in peace, all right?" I said through my grinding teeth and continued to hum. Ron and Hermione giggled at my choice of how to calm everyone down by humming a song. It didn't work as much on Harry, he smiled a bit at me, but he looked blankly at the floor.

As we reached towards the pair of magnificent black iron gates, flanked with stone columns with winged boars on top, there were two more dementors on either side of the gates. I abruptly stopped humming to witness the two gigantic dementors floating and watching each of the carriages pass the gates. 

Harry looked sick, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes until we were past the horrendous creatures. Hermione stuck her head out to watch us move closer and closer to the castle, watching the turrets fly by.

The carriage halted, and the three of us jumped out of the carriage, Harry slowly followed jumping out of the carriage. Draco Malfoy pushed through me, Ron and Hermione and spoke in a delighted voice. 

"You fainted Potter? Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually fainted? We tried to ignore Malfoy, walking up the stone steps, but Draco elbowed his way through us to stare directly at Harry. 

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ron said, clenching his jaw and fists with a fire in his eye. 

"Did you faint as well, Weasley? Did the scary old dementor frighten you too, Weasley?" He loudly exclaims, heads turned towards the five of us. 

"Piss off, Malfoy. Don't you have-" I said through grinding teeth.

"Is there a problem?" a familiar voice said, Remus walked off the carriage with his arms crossed. Malfoy's head jerked back to see the professor with an insolent stare in his eyes. He smirked at Crabbe and Goyle and went up the stairs and into the castle. 

"Rita, if he gives you or your friends anymore trouble. Let me handle it, I don't need you to get in trouble, all right, Rita Pita?" Remus said, as the three of my friends stared at him. 

"Fine." I huffed, waving goodbye. I pushed both Harry and Ron up the stairs, to hurry up and join the crowd swarming up to the oak front doors.

We walked through the doors, into the cavernous entrance hall, which was lit up by flaming torches, and a beautiful marble staircase that led up to the upper floors. The door to the Great Hall stood to the right, it stood open while kids were moving through it. The four of us followed the crowd, I glanced up at the ceiling which was bewitched to exhibit the black and cloudy sky tonight.

A voice called, "Potter! Granger! I want to see you both!" McGonagall stood behind us, looking at us through his square spectacles. We all fought our way through the crowd, standing in front of her with a worried look.

"There's no need to look so worried - I just want a word in my office - Move along Vixen and Weasley" She swatted her hand at us, and we stared at our friends with a pout. She ushered our friends out of the crowd and up the marble staircases. 

"Well, they must be in some sort of trouble, better it's them and not us... Let's get a move on, shall we?" Ron smiled, as we both elbowed our way through the crowd and into the Gryffindor table.

Neville, Dean and Seamus smiled at the two of us while we sat down across from them, saving two seats for Harry and Hermione. "Where are they?" Neville asked, worriedly. "McGonagall's office, they'll be back soon." I said, examining the table for familiar faces. 

"Hi Rita! Hi Ron!" The twins shouted from the front of the table with Angelina and Lee Jordan smiling at us. 

"Hi guys!" I grinned, waving at the four of them. Ginny was sitting with the second years, staring blankly at me, she clearly wanted to sit down with us, but her friends dragged her to sit with them.

The first years flooded into the Great Hall, terrified faces upon them all. It reminded me of my first year, I was extremely scared, but Mum and Dad were so excited for me to go. Uncle Remus even bought me Soupy to take along on my first year.

Everyone put on their black hats, I accidentally hit Ron in the face with my pointed hat, he hissed at me. '"I'm sorry." I mouth to him, but he nodded with his red ears making an appearance.

The first student, Marin Hooks, stepped up onto the platform and sat down on the chair. Everyone stared for the first boy to be seated, this was very amusing. 

"He looks scared, he might be a Hufflepuff," Ron whispered in my ear as we stared at the boy. "Maybe Ravenclaw, he looks neat." I whisper back to him. 

The Sorting Hat began to sing his song. Ron and I giggled at the hat's song, it was pretty silly in my opinion. The Sorting Hat began to speak to the boy, as I gripped the edge of my bench, waiting for him to yell out his house.

"Slytherin!" The hat shouted as the Slytherin table got up and banged on the table out of excitement. They were all shouting and screaming at the boy, pulling him onto the table. He didn't look as scared as he was before. 

Ron and I exchanged a look, the next girl went on, Crystal Locus. "Gryffindor." I mumbled to Ron who shook his head, "Ravenclaw." He muttered to me. 

"Gryffindor!" The Sorting Hat shouted, I nudged Ron's shoulder with a I-told-you-so face. We all got up and cheered for the new student, we clapped and stomped on the floor out of excitement.

After the lengthy sorting ceremony, McGonagall finally ushered into the Great Hall followed by Hermione and Harry. They parted their ways as the two quietly made their way to their seats. Hermione sat beside me as Harry sat beside Ron.

I took off my hat and stuffed it in my robe pocket. "What happened?" I peered over to Hermione who was playing with the new necklace around her. "I'll tell you when we're alone." The headmaster stood up from his seat, breaking our conversation.

Dumbledore stood around in front of his podium, beaming at all the tables. "Welcome! Welcome to another year of Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..." Dumbledore cleared his throat, and began to continue,

"As you will all be aware after the search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." I shook a bit once he spoke the word dementor, it frightened me so much. 

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even Invisibility Cloaks," Ron, Hermione, Harry and I all shot our heads to one another. 

"It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors," Dumbledore said, taking a double take at both Percy and Penelope.

"Bighead Boy." I muttered to Ron, who stifled a snort, but hid his laughter with his sleeve. Percy was a few seats down from us, puffing his chest at us with pride.

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Scattered applause was heard from around the hall, they were unenthusiastic.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and I clapped loud and violently along with the people that were in the compartment with us when he got rid of the dementor, and Fred and George. We cheered for Remus, who grinned widely at all of us.

"Look at Snape!" Ron hissed, pointing at Snape who had beyond anger expression upon his face, he was loathing. We all knew that face, but to a new teacher? This was something new, I never had seen Snape do this to a teacher before.

"As to our second appointment," Dumbledore stated as the applause had died down for Remus. 

"Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties." 

The four of us were shocked, we were stunned that Hagrid had the job. We clapped loud and hard for Hagrid, the applause echoed through the whole building, we were so proud of him.

'We should've known! Who else would have assigned us a biting book?" roared Ron, who was pounding on the table. The four of us were the last to stop clapping, Hagrid used the tablecloth to wipe his eyes. 

"Well, I think that's everything of importance, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore shouted as the golden plates and goblets filled suddenly with delicious food and drink. I made my plate, full of rice balls, baked potatoes, chicken, turkey, gravy on the top of it, I was extremely hungry.

"This is so amazing," Ron said with his mouth full. "So delicious." I added, taking a bite of the rice ball in my hand. "You like the rice ball, huh, Rita?" Ron swallowed, pointing at me, I was closing my eyes as I took another bite. 

"New Nickname! Rice ball!" Ron shouts, nudging both me and Harry with a chuckle. Harry looked at me with a grin. The four of us filled our table with laughter. While everyone finished dinner, dessert quickly appeared on the plates. 

"Dessert? I possibly can't fit any more food in me." Hermione sighed, reaching for a pumpkin tart. "But it's so good." Hermione took two more tarts and placed them onto her plate. I took two, sighing at my full stomach. 

I lifted up my head, chewing the delicious pumpkin tart, noticing Ron's plate was full of all different sweets. Ron had two full plates of dinner, and now he has a full plate of sweets, is his stomach a bottomless pit?

Looking at Harry, he was shoving different sweets in his mouth, chewing loudly with his mouth open, they both looked like scavengers. As we all wrapped up our final swallows, Dumbledore announced it was now time to go back to our dormitories, we finally had our chance to greet the new professors.

"Congratulations, Hagrid!" Hermione squealed, as we reached the teachers table. "All down ter you four," Hagrid said, wiping his eyes again with the tablecloth. 

"Can't believe it... great man, Dumbledore... came straight down to me hut after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough... It's what I always wanted..." He blew his nose loudly, I sneakily snuck away and up to my uncle Remus. 

"Oh hello, Rita." He smiled down at me, I waved up to him with a huge grin. "I'm so excited for your class, uncle!"

I grinned as the three began to shout my name from behind me, "Rita! Come on! Bye, Professor Lupin!" I turned my head to their shout, gesturing for me to come with. 

"All right, see you tomorrow!" I waved at him, as Hermione interlocked our arms and strode out of the Great Hall. We joined the Gryffindors streaming up the marble staircase, to the hidden entrance of Gryffindor Tower. The Fat lady was dressed in a pink dress, she beamed to all of us, "Password?"

"Coming through, coming through!" Percy called from behind us, ushering his way through the crowd. "The new password's 'Fortuna Major!' " We went through the portrait hole, waving each other off with a cheerful goodnight, and made our way up to our separate staircases.

We walked through our door, to see all our things already brought up. Soupy and Crookshanks were laying down on our four-posters. "Hello, Soupy!" I yelp, jumping onto my bed to give Soupy a kiss. I changed into my pyjamas and awaited for Hermione on my bed.

She marched out of the bathroom, approaching me, "Now, tell me." I muttered, pulling her down to sit beside me. "Well, this right here, is a Timeturner. McGonagall had given it to me, so I can be in two classes at once since I have a very busy schedule. With one flick, I could be in one class and another class at the same time." She whispers, petting Crookshanks in her lap. 

"Wicked." I mumble, examining the necklace around her neck. She yawned, grabbing Crookshanks with one arm. "Sweet dreams, Rita." She hugged me with her open arm, slumping her way to our beds. 

Shutting the lanterns off, we settled in our beds, struggling to close our eyes. I finally felt overjoyed, I was back with my friends. No more being extremely lonely in my big castle with Krobus. Krobus is great company but always has plenty to do, now Uncle Remus is here at Hogwarts. I felt happy at last.


	3. classroom horrors

"Get up! Get up! You sleep so late! Get up!" Hermione shouts, smacking me in the face with her pillow. "Huh?" I jolted up, rubbing my eyes groggily. 

"You need to get ready, here's your uniform. I already straightened it out for you, thank me later. We need to get a foot on," she shouted, turning her back to grab the hanger where my uniform hung.

I instantly shut my eyes, but she noticed before I could sleep. "Rita Claudie Vixen!" She shouted, throwing my uniform on the bed. Shaking me out of my sleep, she sat me up in my bed. 

"Get up. Get out of bed." She ordered, prodding a finger in my chest. "All right, I'm up." I yawn, pulling the blankets off of my body.

I grabbed my uniform and slumped my way to the bathroom. I threw off my pyjamas, slipping on my collared shirt and skirt. I quickly put the grey sweater and black tights along with my mary janes on, beginning to fix my wild hair. 

Waking up with curly hair definitely was a curse, I raked my hair product in my hair and bunched my curls in the palms of my hands to define them. 

Now the hardest part of my morning routine, my contacts. I plopped the left on in my left eye with no problem. The right one, I kept poking my eye until I finally blinked it into my eye. I tossed on my robe, and took a peek at myself in the mirror before I went out.

Mornings were such a bore, simply to get ready. I stepped out of the bathroom, greeted with a smiley Hermione. "Ah! You look fantastic. If I let you sleep, you wouldn't have time to get ready. See, why I did so?" She squealed, interlocking our arms and strolled out of the dormitory. 

Harry and Ron were waiting in the common room for the two of us to get out and join them for breakfast. "Finally." Ron mumbled, leading the way with Harry to the Great Hall.

As we stepped into the Great Hall, Draco Malfoy caught our eyes. He and a bunch of Slytherins were in a group circle as Draco dramatically pretended to pass out onto the floor. I stepped out of the group, to walk towards Draco, but Hermione pulled me back. 

"Ignore them. Just ignore them...it's not worth it." She whispered behind me and Harry who had his head down the whole time.

"Hey, Potter!" Pansy Parkinson shrieked from the table, she had a ridiculous bob that curled at her cheeks. "Potter! The dementors are coming, Potter! Woooooooo!" She howled, as the Slytherins began to roar with laughter.

"That's it." I mumble, letting go of Hermione's grasp, shifting my body to Pansy's direction. 

"Pansy, mind your own business. That joke was very unfunny, and as you can see my friends and I don't want your pug face involved with our life. Stick to kissing Draco's feet," I snapped as my voice echoed throughout the Great Hall, Pansy's face turned bright red as the Slytherins all went silent. My best friends chuckled loudly behind me.

"Now. If you'll all excuse us. We'll be on our way to enjoy our breakfast without bloody comments from you." I hissed, marching to the Gryffindor table. 

"Tiny Temper." Fred and George loudly screamed as I reached the long wood table. I shrugged with a smug expression on my face, sitting down at the table.

George Weasley sat beside Harry, who had a few papers in his hands. "New third-year course schedules," he said, passing them over to us. "What's up with you, Harry?"

"Malfoy." Ron muttered, sitting on George's other side. He glared over to Malfoy. I shot my head to look over at the Slytherin table where Pansy glared at me, as Draco pretended to faint with terror again. 

"That little git. He wasn't so cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?" George called for Fred. Fred sat down beside me, joining the conversation. "Nearly wet himself." Fred said, with a contemptuous glance at Draco.

"So did Rita. She was mumbling in the cats' coats and cried for help at me." Ron giggled, waiting for a reaction out of me. "Ron!" I shout, with my mouth open. He laughed, turning his head to laugh harder. 

"To be fair, I wasn't too happy myself. They're horrible things, those dementors...." George said in a soft tone, shivering at the thought of a dementor. "Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" asked Fred, turning his head towards Harry. 

"You didn't pass out, though, did you?" Harry replied in a low voice. George and Fred exchanged a gaze. "Forget it, Harry," George said bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember, Fred? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been, he came back all weak and shaking... They suck the happiness out of a place, dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there..."

Ron, Hermione and I all gave George and Fred a look. Harry's face was completely pale, Fred took this as a sign to change the topic. 

"Anyway," Fred cleared his throat. "We'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?" Fred and George both directed their attention to their food, eating silently. 

Hermione nudged my shoulder to look at her schedule, she had three classes during 9:00 am. "Blimey, Hermione." I pointed at her schedule, studying her compacted day.

"Oh, good! We're starting some new subjects today." She cheered happily, as Ron frowned down at her. "Hermione, they've messed up your schedule. Look - they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time." He pointed down at all of her extra classes, completely confused on how she had so many classes.

"Rita, can I see yours to see if they made a mistake?" He asks, holding his hand out. I took my schedule and placed it in his hand, our fingers brushed against each other causing the two of us to blush incredibly.

Hermione and I raised an eyebrow at each other, we knew exactly how she'll manage. "I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall-" She spoke, but Ron cut her off. "See, Rita's isn't messed up either. Hermione, look. See this morning? Nine o'clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies," He looked closer into the paper, practically having his whole face in a paper of parchment.

"Look - underneath that, Arithmancy, nine o'clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"

"Don't be silly. Of course, I won't be in three classes at once." She smirked at me over to me. "Well, then-" He began to say. "Pass the marmalade," Hermione asks, reaching out for the bottle that was in the middle of the table. "But-" He spoke again. 

"Ron, why does it matter? Are you worried you can't copy her work if she's not in our classes?" I said, spreading the grape jelly over my slice of toast. "Maybe," he said as his ears turned red.

"I already told you, Ron. I fixed it all with Professor McGonagall. Also, I'm not letting you copy my work!" She exclaimed as Ron's eyebrows raised with a smirk on his face. He always finds a way to cheat off of Hermione. He lifted his head and smiled cheekily at me, I returned the cheeky smile.

Hagrid strolled into the Great Hall with his casual moleskin coat and unexpectedly dead ferrets hanging from his neck.

"All righ'?" Hagrid paused in front of us with a wide grin on his face. "Yer in my firs' ever lesson! Right after lunch! Bin up since five gettin' everythin' ready... Hope it's okay... Me, a teacher....hones'ly..." He waved at us, and continued his way to the teacher's table. 

"Exciting, isn't it?" I said, sipping pumpkin juice. "Wonder what he's been getting ready?" Ron peered over to me, his voice was a bit higher than usual. "Probably some crazy, deadly creature we have never seen before...." I muttered, glancing at Ron, whose mouth opened in fear.

The hall began to empty as people began to set off to their first lessons. Noticing the lack of people, I quickly jumped off my seat and grabbed my bag from under my seat. Ron watched me gathering my stuff, then pointed at his schedule, as Harry and Hermione stopped eating their breakfast to take a look at it. "We'd better go...Divination's at the top of the North Tower."

I grabbed my Divination book out of my bag, holding it in my arms. "Hurry up." I said, standing up beside the three who were quickly finishing their breakfast. "Tiny Temper making a special appearance twice in one hour, can you believe it, Georgie?" Fred snickered loudly, glancing up at me. 

"Divination's a bore. If it gets boring, let us know." George said, with his spoon hanging from his mouth. "I'm actually excited. But if it does, I'll let you know." I added, as the three stood beside me ready to make our way up to the North Tower.

We made our way out of the Great Hall, we passed by the Slytherin table. Draco was doing yet another impression of Harry's fainting fit. I trolled off from the group, pausing to get a full view of the table, glaring directly at the Draco. 

"Draco I swear-" I opened my mouth but, Ron yanked me out of the Great Hall and to the corridors.

"Are you excited for Divination?" I ask the group as we strolled through the endless corridors of the castle to arrive at the North Tower. "It's with tea leaves, right? I believe that's the first lesson." Hermione perked up, as we turned to another corridor. 

"I reckon. I think we get to drink the tea too. I'm parched, we walked for so long." Ron moaned, slumping behind Hermione and I as we arrived at the North Tower. 

We stepped inside of the tower, as we looked up and saw what was our biggest fear at the moment. Spiral staircase after staircase. 

"Brilliant, when I thought it couldn't get any worse." Harry whined behind me, staring up at the hundreds of stairs we were about to climb.

We had barely got off our seventh staircase, all of us were panting loud, trying to regain our breath over the journey it took to get to our first lesson.

"There's - got - to - be - a - shortcut," Ron spoke through wheezes, huffing and puffing as we climbed onto the landing. There was nothing on the walls except for one painting with a bare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall. 

"Maybe it's this way?" I pointed to the corridor in front of us. 

"I think it's this way." Hermione said, staring at the right passage. 

"Can't be either, it's the left. There's nothing down the one in front of us and you can see a bit of the lake out of the window..." Ron retorted, pointing at the left passage.

The three of us fell into a loud debate over who was right and which way we were going, but Harry studied and watched the painting. 

"I think we should go my way," I shout, marching down my desired passageway. 

"No! You're wrong." Ron shouted back, crossing his arms against his chest. 

"I reckon we go this way," Hermione ordered, she stood with her hands on her hips staring at the two of us. 

"Harry!" We all chanted simultaneously, as his back was turned to us the whole time.

"Aha!" A faint voice called, clattering of metal was heard faintly. We all gave each other a look and crept behind Harry. There was a short knight with a pony following him. 

"What villains are these, that trespass upon my private lands! Come to scorn at my fall, perchance? Draw, you kneaves, you dogs!"

Even after the knight had insulted me, I couldn't help but watch the tiny knight tug his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. The sword was way too big for him, he swung the sword once and it fell straight into grass which caused him to topple over. 

"Are you all right?" Harry asked, moving slowly closer to the moving picture. 

"Get back, you scurvy braggart! Back, you rogue!" The knight shouted, trying to seize his sword from the grass, trying to push himself back up with it. He toppled over again and the blade sunk deeply into the grass.

"He's got a lot of rage for a tiny guy." I whisper to my friends, peering over Harry's shoulder, watching the tiny metal clothed knight toss and turn.

"Kind of like you, Rita." Harry joked, exchanging a glance with me that followed by a grin. "Oh, hush." I mumbled, patting the back of Harry's shoulder to watch the knight.

The knight sat down on the grass, swiping sweat off his face. "Listen, we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way, do you?" Harry asked the sweaty knight. 

"A quest!" The knight roared excitedly, he clanked up to his feet. "Come follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!" He tried to give his sword a nice tug, but it didn't work. He tried to mount his fat pony but couldn't. 

"On foot then, good sirs and gentle ladies! On! On!" The knight clinked loudly, running into the left side of the frame and out of sight.

We hurried behind the clinking knight, who we couldn't see but heard his loud clanking armour." Be of stout heart, the worst is yet to come!" The knight yelled as he ran up with the clinking sounds along the spiral staircases. Huffing and puffing loudly, we climbed our way to the classroom.

Murmurs of voices were heard from the ground above us, we were there. We climbed up the last set of steps until we stood face to face with the knight one last time. 

"Farewell! Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!" The knight cried, popping his head in a picture with sinister-looking monks.

"Yeah, we'll call you!" Ron shouts as the knight disappears into the right side of the frame, the clinking sounds fainting as he runs. 

"If we ever need someone mental." Ron muttered to the three of us. Ron looked up at the ceiling, "Guys." He pointed up to the ceiling with a circular trapdoor that read Sybill Trelawney. 

"How're we supposed to get up there?" Harry asks. And to our surprise, the trapdoor suddenly opened and a silver ladder descended instantly at our feet. 

"Brilliant." I muttered as Ron rushed Harry up the silver ladder.

I climbed up the ladder shortly after Hermione, instantly taking in the most bizarre surroundings. It looked like a cross between my old attic and an old-fashioned teashop. I wasn't complaining, though, it was extraordinary. Small circular tables were crammed inside the room, surrounded by chintz armchairs and fat little poufs. 

The lighting was dim, only lit by a crimson light shining in the middle of the classroom. The curtains and windows were all shut.

I hoisted myself up from the ladder, closing the trapdoor as Hermione heaved me up to the crowd of students crammed in the middle of the room.

"Where is she?" I ask, peering over Hermione's shoulder. A voice came out of the shadows, a misty voice. "Welcome. How nice to see you in the physical world at last." The misty voice said, as it moved into the firelight.

There stood Professor Trelawney, she was particularly thin and had her circle glasses increased her eyes bigger than their natural size. She had bangles and chains drooping from her forearm down to her wrist, and innumerable shiny beads that hung from her neck. "Sit, my children, sit." She extended her arm and pointed to all of the tables.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I all awkwardly sat down around the same round table. I sat down in one of the fat poufs that engulfed me as soon as I grazed against it. Harry let out a loud snort, watching me scramble out from the pouf's grasp. I finally sat on the edge of the pouf, not leaning back, so I wouldn't get eaten again.

"Welcome to Divination. My name is Professor Trelawney. You may have not seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school clouds my Inner Eye." Professor Trelawney took a seat in a winged armchair, right in front of the fire.

The room was silent as she spoke in an airy and misty tone. "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is a very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field..." I grinned widely, textbooks weren't usually my strong point, I liked to work hands-on. I hated to read endless textbooks, but with the help from Hermione, it wasn't a big deal. 

I glanced over to Hermione, this news startled her. "Many witches and wizards, talented though they are in the area of loud bangs and smells and sudden disappearing, are yet unable to penetrate the veiled mysteries of the future." Everyone was on the edge of their seats, their faces were written all over with fear. 

But my eyes gleamed, watching Professor Trelawney speak so passionately about her work. "It is a Gift granted to few. You, boy. Is your grandmother well?" My face shot in the direction of Professor Trelawney and Neville. Neville jumped, almost toppling himself off the pouf.

"I think so." Neville tremulously said, staring directly at Trelawney. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, dear," Trelawney advised, moving along from different tables. 

"We will be covering the basic methods of Divination this year. The first term will be devoted to reading tea leaves. Next term we shall progress to palmistry. By the way, my dear." She shot to Parvati Patil, who was sitting at the table right next to us. 

"Beware a red-headed man." Parvati instantly edged her chair away from Ron.

"What?" He gasped, turning to the three of us. "Do I smell?"

"Didn't you hear her?" Harry asked through a chuckle. I laughed quietly at Ron's whimpered expression, still confused on what had happened. 

"In the second term. We shall progress to the crystal ball - if we have finished with fire omens, that is. Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice." Silence eased into the classroom after her weird observation. I leaned into the circular table, trying to speak as low as possible.

"Isn't it fantastic how she can predict everything? I hope she tells me, I have the Sight." I whisper to the three. "Maybe. Look, she's coming to us." Harry whispered back, shutting his mouth and straightening his posture. 

"And around Easter, one of our numbers will leave us forever. You, dear. You seem to exude a high aura. You seem to have a great receptivity to the resonances of the future...hm, I hope you continue in this class." She pointed at me, with a toothless smile on her face. 

She walked over to Lavender Brown, speaking yet again in an airy tone. "No way." I whispered to my friends who were baffled. 

"Rita exhibits Trelawney energy..." Ron teased, wiggling his eyebrows at me. "Professor Vixen of Divination." Harry jokes, winking at me.

Hermione crossed her arms on the table, watching the teacher's every move. "Now, I want you all to divide into pairs. Collect a teacup from the shelf, come to me, and I will fill it." Trelawney said, right as she spoke, I grabbed Hermione's arm.

"Partners?" I whispered to her. "Obviously." She muttered as we both got up from our seats. 

"Then sit down and drink, drink until only the dregs remain. Swill these around the cup three times with the left hand, then turn the cup upside down on its saucer, wait for the last of the tea to drain away, then give your cup for your partner to read. You will interpret the patterns using pages five and six of Unfogging the Future. I shall move among you, helping and instructing. Oh, and dear, -" she grabbed Neville's arm as he stood up.

"After you've broken your first cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue-patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink." She asks him, letting go of his arm. Hermione and I joined the flood of students waiting by the shelfs full of teacups. Hermione grabbed two pink teacups, passing one over to me.

Sure enough, Neville had dropped one of the teacups. Professor Trewlaney had already stood next to the shelf with the dust and broom and asked again if Neville could grab one of the blue cups.

Hermione and I went over to Professor Trelawney with our teacups as she filled them with a hot scalding tea. We retreated back to our poufs, slowly sipping the tea.

Ron and Harry, who seemed to not care, chugged the hot tea down. "Are you both mad?" I question as Harry began to stick out his tongue and fan his mouth. I rolled my eyes and took several sips of my tea.

As Hermione and I finished our tea, we began swilling the cup three times with our left hand. I turned my cup upside down and watched a few droplets of brown liquid drip onto the napkin. I swapped cups with Hermione's and opened up my book to pages five and six.

I looked inside and saw a tea-leaf made out to be a bone, "Um. It looks like a bone. Which means, a disagreement with friends. Wonder who that's going to be with... Hm I also see a helicopter... Which means you're in for a journey..." I stared at the tea leaves as Hermione shrugged my reading off.

"Now yours, let's see...a sword...which means argument... D'you think we're going to argue?" She asks, lifting her head up to look at me in the eyes. 

"I don't think so. Maybe we'll get into an argument with the boys?" I question, as we both glimpsed over to the boys. Ron was now looking into Harry's cup. 

"Fair enough. Okay, now, I see....a swan...news of a romantic relationship? Oh, Rita!... Who do you think?" she beamed at me, as we shifted our direction over to the boys.

Professor Trelawney was now at our table, examining Harry's tea leaves.

"The falcon... my dear, you have a deadly enemy." Professor Trelawney rotated Harry's teacup counterclockwise. 

"But everyone knows that," Hermione whispered loudly as Professor stared at her. "Well, they do, everybody knows about Harry and You-Know-Who." I stared amazed at Hermione, she never had spoken back to a teacher.

Harry, Ron and I have a record of talking back to the teachers but never Hermione. Professor Trelawney ignored Hermione and dipped down to view the tea leaves again. 

"The club... an attack. Dear, dear, this is not a happy cup..." She examined more into the cup as Harry's face turned white. 

"I thought that was a bowler hat..." Ron sheepishly admitted. "The skull... danger in your path, my dear...." Trelawney examined the cup, giving it a final turn, she gasped, then screamed.

Another sound of breaking china, I looked over my shoulder to see Neville with a baffled look on his face. Professor Trelawney sat back into her armchair, she had closed her eyes and rested her hand on her heart. "My dear boy...my poor, dear boy...no... it is kinder not to say.... No .... Don't ask me."

"What is it, Professor?" Dean Thomas asked, his hands pressed onto my pouf. "Dean." I looked up at him, his face was upside down from my angle. "Sorry, Rita." He mumbled, letting go of my pouf. 

"My dear, you have the Grim." She opened her eyes dramatically. Ron and I instantly clapped our hands against our mouths. We turned to each other with fear. 

"The what?" Harry shouted, looking at the group of clapped hands behind the Professor. "The Grim, my dear, the Grim! The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen - the worst omen - of death!" She shouted, Harry took a deep breath.

My eyes suddenly locked onto Harry, this has to be some sort of joke, right? Hermione got up and moved to the back of the Professor's chair. 

"I don't think it looks like a Grim." Hermione flatly said. Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione up and down. "You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future."

I received an angry glance from Hermione, she wasn't very happy about her comment. Seamus Finnigan was tilting his head side to side, squinting at the tea cup. 

"It looks like a Grim if you do this!" He exclaimed, narrowing his eyes to see it. "But it looks like a donkey from here.." He said, shifting his head to the left.

"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!" Harry yelled at everyone, his eyes widened at his loud yell. I quickly turned my head away from Harry's. 

"I think we will leave the lesson here for today, yes, please pack away your things...." She said in a misty, soft voice.

I silently took my teacup back to the Professor, swiftly going back to the table. I packed away from quill, ink, and book and waited for the other three to finish. Harry however was annoyed and anxious, he quickly set off in front of us and guided us away.

As we hit the long narrow corridors, Hermione, Ron and I quietly followed Harry behind to Transfiguration. "I'm going to ask if he's all right." I whispered to the two, who widened their eyes and shook their heads. I caught up to Harry and tugged on his robe sleeve.

"Hm?" He anxiously said, lifting his head up to me. "Are you all right?" I asked, caringly.

"Not really. I just got the news I might die, so..." He quietly said, pacing beside me. 

"Right," I anxiously chuckled. "I don't really think that'll happen, Harry. We should ask McGonagall. She does seem to have a grasp about everything." I nodded to Harry, who returned a nod.

We wandered all over the castle to find McGonagall's class, when we finally arrived it had been just in time. The four of us sat in the back of the class, I sat next to Hermione, closer to Harry. 

McGonagall began her lecture on Animagi, wizards who can transform at will into animals, but I couldn't listen well. I kept taking several glances at Harry, waiting for McGonagall to finish her transformation into a tabby cat.

"Really, what has got into you all today?" She asked, changing back into her human self. A faint pop noise was heard as she turned back. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class." She announced, staring down at all of us. 

Everybody turned to Harry, nobody spoke a word. Hermione raised her hand. "Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and -" McGonagall's frown cut off Hermione.

"Ah, of course, there is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?" I slowly raised my hand but Harry's mouth opened. "Me." He blatantly said. 

"I see, then you should know, Potter, that Sybill Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them died yet. Seeing death omens is her favourite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues -" McGonagall had stopped herself, taking a deep breath. 

"Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney -" McGonagall had to stop again. I glanced at Hermione, who was grinning widely. 

"Do you think Trelawney lied about me having the Sight?" I whispered to Hermione. 

"Maybe? You shouldn't worry though..." She whispered back, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

"You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure that if you die, you need not hand it in." McGonagall smiled at Harry. 

Hermione and I giggled, glancing over to Harry who let out a relaxed sigh. "Everything's all right." I whispered to Harry, who smiled and nodded.

Transfiguration was reading textbook page after textbook page, Hermione beamed at the amount of reading we were doing, myself wasn't too happy. The bell rang, and we all gathered our stuff and proceeded to the Great Hall. 

"Bye, Ms. McGonagall!" I waved, as she waved back at me with a smile. I walked beside Harry, while Ron was muttering to Hermione about how he still doesn't believe that Harry is all right. 

We sat down at the table, Hermione and I on one bench and Ron and Harry on the opposite. I scooped a spoonful of stew into my mouth, noticing Ron picking his food.

"Ron, here. Want my stew?" I ask, pushing over my stew to Ron. He nodded his head, scooping some stew onto his plate, pushing it back to me. He didn't touch it.

"Cheer up, you heard what McGonagall said." Hermione assured him, but Ron's eyes wandered to Harry's.

"Harry, you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?" Ron asked in a low, serious tone. 

"Yeah, I have. I saw one the night I left the Dursleys," Harry replied, scooping his stew into his mouth.

Ron's fork hit the floor with a clatter. I stopped mid way with my food, staring directly at Harry. 

"Probably a stray." Hermione calmly added, grazing the stew in her plate. "The Grim is really, really bad." I added, tapping the side of the platter with the stew in it. 

"Really. If Harry's seen a Grim, that's - that's bad. My - my uncle Bilius saw one and - and he died twenty-four hours later!" Ron screeched with fear, staring madly at Hermione.

"Sorry for your loss." I quietly said, still tapping the side of my dish.

"Coincidence." Hermione airily said, pouring pumpkin juice into her small glass. 

"Hermione, the Grim, is a really negative omen... It's not something you can lightly talk about." I mentioned, trying hard not to take a peek at Harry.

"Hermione, you don't know what you're talking about! Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!" Ron retorted, he was starting to get angry at Hermione.

"There you are then, They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!" Hermione spoke in a superior tone, taking out her new Arithmancy book, propping it against the juice jug.

"Ron, you did say that your uncle died twenty-four hours after seeing the Grim... It's been a few weeks, Harry hasn't died. I think he'll be fine!" I cheered, grinning at Harry. Ron mouthed wordlessly at the two of us. 

I peeked over Hermione's book and shook my head, way too many math problems. 

"I think Divination seems very woolly, a lot of guesswork if you ask me." She looked at me, skimming the pages to find her work. 

"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" Ron said hotly.

"You didn't see the Grim in his cup though..." I quietly added as Hermione snickered beside me. 

"You didn't seem so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep." Hermione added, rolling her eyes at Ron. 

"Professor Trelawney only told Rita she had the right aura! She also said you didn't have the right aura! You just keep talking because you don't like being bad at something for a change!" He exclaimed, Hermione's face went pale.

Hermione slammed her book on the table so hard that my stew splashed my cheek. "If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it any longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!" She grabbed all of her books, stuffing them into her bag. 

"I'll see you in class, Ri." She stalked away, stomping out of the Great Hall.

"I don't think it's complete rubbish, Ritakins. Professor Trelawney said you have the Sight! I believe that's enough reason to study Divination still." Ron said, lifting up the tension between the three of us. 

"Even if that death omen was just how Trelawney greets her new classes, I think it'll be a nice class. Right, Harry?" Ron nudged Harry's elbow and his pumpkin juice splashed his nose. 

"No, right, I do. Rita, we'll stay in Divination with you." Harry reassured me, wiping the pumpkin juice off his nose. 

"Now, on a happier note... We have Hagrid's class next!" I excitedly said, as Harry's face lightened up.

"I'm happy to get out of the castle, my day hasn't been as well as I hoped." He moped, swirling around his juice. 

"We'll have fun in Hagrid's class though, Harry. That'll lift up your spirits." Ron assured Harry, with a bright smile to his best friend.

We stepped foot of the castle, Harry and Ron, beside me as we walked down the damp grass hill to Hagrid's hut. Hermione stayed beside Harry, giving glares to Ron. 

"Isn't this awkward..." Harry mumbled to me in my ear. 

"You can cut the tension with a knife." I mumbled back, Harry stifled a chuckle as the two both glanced at both of us with a snarl look on their faces. 

As Harry and I kept close to one another, we stumbled down to the hill to see the backs of three familiar people.

"Our favourite people, excellent." Harry sarcastically muttered under his breath to me, watching Draco animatedly talk to his troll friends who were chortling. 

"Ignore them. They aren't worth it." I muttered back, pulling his sleeve to Hagrid's hut. There stood Hagrid the giant with his boarhound, Fang, standing at his heels. 

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Hagrid impatiently shouted at the class who approached him. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!" Hagrid strolled us to the edge of the trees, a padlocked fence blocking the area.

"Everyone gather 'round this fence here! That's it - make sure yeh can see - now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books -" Hagrid called, as the swarm of students flooded around the area. Hermione and Ron were now standing at both sides of me, smiling at me but death staring at each other.

"How?" Draco Malfoy shouted in his cold, drawling voice. 

"Eh?" Hagrid looked down as we all had either belted our books shut or tied them shut. 

"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated, showing his crammed book in a tight bag. 

"Did you guys figure out how to open your books?" I questioned, looking down at everyone's closed books. "No." Ron said, holding his book up that had a tight rope wrapped around it.

"Hasn' - hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked, scanning the crowd as he saw all the closed books. 

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em. Look -" He took Hermione's book and ripped the Spellotape off. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran his giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, then opened and stood quiet in his hands. 

"Oh, how silly we've all been! We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!" Malfoy sneered as the other Slytherins laughed loudly at his joke.

"I- I thought they were funny." Hagrid said to the four of us, appearing a bit zoned out. I stared over to Draco who opened his mouth yet again. Everytime he opened his mouth, it angered me deeply. 

"Oh, tremendously funny! Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!" Draco sarcastically commented.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry quietly said. I, then, took it upon myself to open my loud mouth.

"Professor, I did think it was funny. So, Malfoy, stop being ungrateful. I do really wish it took your hand off." I belted out, peering over my shoulder to view Malfoy's face.

"Now if you would let Professor Hagrid continue to speak and not have to deal with you disrupting his lesson, we'd all be deeply appreciated." I exclaimed, whipping my head to the batch of Slytherins that stood quiet. 

Draco stared at me, sneering at me. The Gryffindors all giggled loudly after me, even Hagrid let out a little laugh.

"Righ' then. So - so yeh've got yer books an' - an' now yeh need that Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em." He strode away and into the forest to gather our creature to study

. "God, this place is going to the dogs, that oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him -" Malfoy opened his mouth again. Ron grabbed my hand, and shook his head. 

"Ignore him, remember." He whispered to me, he looked down at his hand holding mine and blushed brightly.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry repeated, loud enough so Draco could hear. "Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you," Malfoy teased, but the bizarre creatures distracted us, Hagrid trotted towards us.

Half horse and half bird. Their torso and legs were horse-like and their heads and wings bird-like. "Gee up, there!" Hagrid shouted, shaking the chains and urging the creatures towards the fence where we all were standing.

"Hippogriffs! Beau'iful aren't they?" Hagrid happily cheered, waving a hand for us to come closer. 

"They look so beautiful..." I mumble, staring at the huge creatures whose coats shimmered in different colours. Smoky grey, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black. I was amazed at these enormous creatures, they were definitely misunderstood creatures. 

"So, if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer-" he said, rubbing his hands together with a shining beam across his face. Hermione, Ron, Harry and I slowly approached Hagrid , trying to be as cautious as possible.

"Now, firs' thing, yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud, easily offended, hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do." Hagrid loudly instructed, looking at each and every one of us. 

"Yeh always wait fer the hippogriff ter make the firs' move. It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right - who wants ter go first?" Hagrid announced, demonstrating the whole instruction as the whole group backed away behind Harry, Ron, Hermione and I. 

The hippogriffs tossed their fierce heads, flexing their wide powerful wings.

They didn't like being tethered like this. 

"No one?" Hagrid asked with a pleading look. 

"I'll do it," Harry shouted, Hagrid smiled widely at him.

Everyone sighed behind us, deeply relieved that none of them had to deal with it. 

"I want to go next!" I whispered to Ron and Hermione, who looked at me with a nod.

"Then we all go next." Hermione swallows and looks at me creepily.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid roared as Harry climbed the fence, taking a deep breath before he climbed over. 

We all grinned at Harry, who smiled nervously back and jumped in the pit.

"Right then - let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak." Hagrid untied the stormy grey hippogriff, leading it away from its friends. 

The whole class went to the other side of the paddock to watch Harry's movements.

"Easy, now, Harry. Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much...." Hagrid quietly said. 

Harry stared at the hippogriff and didn't blink his eyes...

"Tha's it. Tha's it, Harry... now, bow..." Hagrid instructed as Harry gave a short bow. The hippogriff didn't move. "Oh no." I whimpered, clapping my hand over my mouth, Hermione and Ron quickly held both of my hands. We shivered watching Harry and the hippogriff.

Harry didn't move, finally the hippogriff bowed back, this clearly was an unmistakable bow. 

"Yes!", the three of us shout, releasing each other's grips.

Ron and I exchanged a blush and whipped our heads in the other direction.

Harry had started to pet the hippogriff, who squealed a bit as Harry stroked the shiny feathers, Buckbeak seemed to be enjoying himself.

Everyone burst into applause and rejoiced in Harry winning the trust of a proud creature.

"Righ' then, Harry, I reckon he might let yeh ride him!" Hagrid said proudly, smiling down at Harry. "Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint, an' mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that...."

Harry then jumped onto the hippogriff, looking worried at the three of us. "Go on, then!" Hagrid slapped it's bum and it flew up into the air. 

"Wow." the beautiful sight mesmerized me of a hippogriff flying. "I want to ride on a hippogriff now." 

Ron gawked at the sight of the hippogriff flapping its wide wings. Buckbeak flew down, as Harry jumped off the creature, petting it one last time.

"Good work, Harry! Okay, who else wants a go?" Hagrid roared as I pushed my way over the fence. 

"Come on!" I gestured to Ron and Hermione who quickly climbed over the fence with me. 

I slowly approached the chestnut hippogriff, keeping eye contact with it. Its large amber eyes were staring directly at me. 

"Now, bow..." Hagrid softly said, as I bowed deeply to the hippogriff. The hippogriff bowed down, and produced a loud squeak. 

"Atta go! Now Rita, yeh can pet him!" Hagrid roared with joy, as I slowly approached the hippogriff and brushed its feathers smoothly.

"How cute!" I gawk, petting its head as it closed its eyes as to show it was enjoying it. "Ron, yeh, go now." Hagrid screamed, I stroked the chestnut creature one more time and stood beside Hagrid. 

"Remember... Don' blink too much..." Ron forced his eyes open, staring at the huge creature. "All righ'... now... bow...." He softly added, Ron slowly bowed down to the hippogriff. The hippogriff bowed deeply to Ron, as Hagrid and I cheered for Ron.

"Go pet him! He's cute!" I assured him as he cautiously approached the animal and put his hand on its beak. He slowly caressed his beak, a cheeky grin growing on his face. "He likes me!" Ron gratefully shouted, now petting the creature's feathers.

"Hermione!" Hagrid shouted as Ron stood beside me, watching Hermione. Hermione stared directly at the creature, then bowed down to the creature. 

The creature bowed down, as Hermione jogged over to pet the animal. She giggled as it squawked loudly, Hagrid allowed Ron and I to pet the creature again. 

We all were around the hippogriff, chuckling and grinning at the huge creature enjoying itself being pet.

A high pitch scream was heard, Malfoy was down on the ground and Hagrid had put Buckbeak's collar on again, hoisting him away from the boy. 

Draco was crawled up in a ball, his robe sleeve was ripped and a bit of blood was dripping from a small cut. "I'm dying! I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!" He cried, rocking back and forth. 

"Yer not dying! Someone help me - gotta get him outta here -" Hermione ran to open the gate, as Hagrid held Malfoy in his arms.

We all followed the two, as the Slytherins began to shout and yell at Hagrid.

"They should fire him straight away!" Pansy Parkinson shouted directly in my ear.

I whipped my head around and chuckled in her face. "They should fire your hairdresser." I retorted as the girl let out a sudden shriek. 

"Tiny Temper!" Ron and Harry gasped at my rude comment, laughing at my comment. 

"It was all Malfoy's fault! He insulted the hippogriff!" Dean Thomas shouted, as Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles to him. We climbed the stone steps up to the deserted entrance hall.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" Pansy cried, racing up the marble stairs. The Slytherins, all muttering and shouting about Hagrid, went down a staircase to their dungeon common room.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I climbed the stairs to the Gryffindor Tower.

"D'you think he'll be all right?" Hermione asked nervously, whipping her head in our direction. 

"It was a puny cut. He's fine." I admitted, yawning as we ambled onto the landing of Gryffindor common room.

"Fortuna Major" Harry whispered to the Fat Lady, the portrait hole swung open as we all climbed into the common room. Hermione looked still shaken up from the whole incident with Draco. 

"Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in about a second," Harry rolled his eyes, he clearly didn't care about Draco being hurt. But neither did I. 

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it? Trust Malfoy to mess things up for him..." Ron said, worriedly.

"It was, but we can call my parents. They'll sort him out if he gets in trouble..." I added, I was anxious for Hagrid. I didn't want him to be fired, he was so excited about his first job as a professor at Hogwarts, of course Malfoy had to ruin things for him.

Shortly after we had made our way into the Great Hall, Uncle Remus walked through the corridor and stopped at our table.

"Hello, hello." He waved as we all beamed at him.

"Hello Professor Lupin!" We all greeted him as he answered with a broad grin.

"Excellent day for lessons..." Uncle Lupin had a blank look on his face. 

"Yeah, I heard about Hagrid. I think it'll be fine though, don't get your wands in a twist. Now, I'll be on my way." He tipped his hat, striding away gracefully as some students greeted him with a 'Hello, Mr. Lupin!'

"Your uncle isn't as bad as I thought he would be. He's quite cool." Ron said, poking at his food. 

"Yeah... but I'm worried. Remus said everyone knows... D'you think they contacted the Ministry of Magic?" I asked as we looked pale as a ghost. 

"They wouldn't fire him, would they?" Hermione questioned, anxiously. 

"They'd better not." Ron added.

Harry stared at the table of Slytherins, Crabbe and Goyle were in the middle of a large scrum among all the Slytherins. 

"Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting day back," Ron blurted out, earning glances from Hermione and me.

We went back to the common room and tried to do our Transfiguration homework. We all couldn't stop glancing out of the tower's window. 

"There's a light on in Hagrid's window." Harry studied Hagrid's hut from the tower, staring at it with a look on his face. 

Ron had the same look on his face, "If we hurried, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early..." Ron informed us, looking at Harry, then Hermione and I. 

"I don't know..." Hermione slowly commented, looking around the room. 

"I'm allowed to walk around school grounds, Sirius Black hasn't got past the dementors here, has he?" Harry said, glancing at all of us.

"What are we waiting for?" I questioned as we all got up and snuck out of the common room. 

Nobody was around while we made our getaway to outside of school. 

The twilight night's moon shined brightly down against the grass, it shined directly on the dewy grass. 

We had reached Hagrid's hut, we all knocked on the door as Hagrid growled behind it, "C'min." Hagrid was sitting in his shirtsleeves at his scrubbed wooden table, Fang was laying in Hagrid's lap. When I looked at Hagrid, I could tell he was drunk.

"'Spect it's a record. Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before." Hagrid whined, taking another gulp out of his tankard.

"You haven't been fired, Hagrid!" Hermione gasped, staring at the giant, who was clearly going through it. 

"Not yet. But's only a matter o' time, i'n't it, after Malfoy..." Hagrid desperately spoke, through his drunken voice. 

"Malfoy is such an evil creature..." I mumbled under my breath and put my hair in a ponytail.

We all sat at Hagrid's scrubbed wooden table.

"How is he? It wasn't serious, was it?" Ron asked, drumming his fingers on the table. 

"He's faking it. Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She regrew half of my bones last year. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all it's worth." Harry rolled his eyes, he didn't believe Malfoy's made up story about him almost dying. 

"School gov'nors have bin told, o' course. They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left hippogriffs fer later... done flobberworms or summat... Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson... 'S all my fault..." He miserably complained, my heart sank for him. Hagrid just wanted a good lesson...

"It's all Malfoy's fault!" Hermione earnestly shouted, accidentally banging her hand on the table. 

"He did it on purpose, Hagrid." I exclaimed, standing up out of my seat. 

"And we're witnesses, you said hippogriffs attack if you insult them. It's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened." Harry assured Hagrid, who didn't seem as miserable as he did before. 

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up." Ron added, with an angled grin on his face.

Tears leaked out of Hagrid's crinkled eyes. He grabbed both Ron and Harry into a bone breaking hug. Hermione and I let out a loud giggle, watching the two boys squirm around. 

"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid." Hermione ordered, grabbing the tankard and walking outside with it. 

"Ar, maybe she's right," Hagrid let go of the boys, as they rubbed both of their ribs as Hagrid followed Hermione unsteadily outside. 

Ron and I looked awkwardly at one another, the tips of his ears turning a bit red. My face felt hot, I quickly turned away.

Harry darted between the both of us, raised eyebrows at the two of us. A loud splash was heard from outside. We hurried out of the door, as Hermione stood in front of us. 

"What's he done?" Harry nervously asked, trying to look over Hermione, to see Hagrid. 

"Stuck his head in the water barrel." Hermione blatantly said, putting the empty tankard away. Hagrid came back into his hut, wet as a dog.

"Tha's better, listen it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really -" He stopped and looked directly at Harry with his face now pale as a piece of parchment. 

"What d'yeh think you're doin', eh?" Hagrid roared so loud that we jumped a feet up in the air. "Yeh're not to go wanderin' around after dark, Harry! An' you three! Lettin' him!" Hagrid roared at us, yanking Harry by his arm and pulled him to the door. 

"C'mon! I'm takin' yer all back up ter school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth all that!" Hagrid roared again, pushing us back up to the castle, mumbling a bit of gibberish.

As we reached the doors of the entrance hall he mumbled some more gibberish and stumbled down the sloping hills. "All right then..." Harry mumbled, as he opened the doors to the school. We made our way up to Gryffindor tower, relieved at the outcome of this terrible day.


	4. the boggart

The corridor was dark and gloomy, a sudden breeze kicked up. As the four of us walked through the dim lit corridors, the icy breeze grazed against my chin. I shivered, making our way down the stairs. "Double Potions. Luck won't be on our side today..." I yawned, throwing my hands up in the arm to stretch them. 

"Snape's going to find some way to take five points away from us, somehow." Harry replied, gripping his potions book against his chest as strode down the corridor to Snape's dungeon classroom. 

"But, at least we have Professor Lupin's class afterwards, I'm really excited for that one." Ron pointed out, walking into the classroom, holding the door for all of us. "Me too." I added, waving the two boys off as Hermione, and I set off to our seats across from Ron and Harry.

"So right now I have a few other classes, when I appear on the stairs later, make up a story fast and quickly." She whispered in my ear as Snape glided in, giving that same loathing glance to Harry and I. 

He instructed us to skip to page 45 for our new Shrinking potion, Snape began to tell us the backstory, the whole story that surrounded the Shrinking Potion. He instructed us to gather our ingredients for our shrinking potion, Hermione and I carefully gathered them, dropping them into our cauldron.

It wasn't until halfway into double Potions that Malfoy stumbled his way in. As the door creaked open, I whipped my head around to see no one other than Malfoy with his right arm covered in bandages, bound up in a sling. "Look at him." Hermione whispers in my ear. "He's milking this whole thing." I whisper back, watching him make his way into the Potions classroom.

Pansy Parkinson shouted "How is it Draco? Does it hurt much?", she simpered. "Comes and it goes. I'd consider myself lucky, Madam Pomfrey said another minute or two I coulda lost my arm. Couldn't possibly do anymore homework for weeks." He said, putting on a brave but grimly voice. 

"Settle down, settle down." Snape ordered, hushing the class to be quiet, "Continue cutting the daisy roots in equal cuts... I know the lazy Gryffindors aren't going to do so..." Hermione and I scowled at each other, Snape stared at the two of us with a crinkled smile. 

I huffed, slicing up the daisy roots into equal pieces, carefully and slowly. From the corner of my eyes I saw Draco, he sat himself right next to Ron and Harry. "Hermione. Draco just sat next to Ron and Harry." She stopped shortly with her cutting, watching Draco slowly put his left hand up in the air.

"Sir. Sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm-" He pleaded, pointing down to his arm as Snape crinkled up again with that same smile. "Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him." Ron's face went brick red.

I rolled my eyes and began cutting up the roots again, "Can't believe him. Thank god, he can't ruin Remus' class, I know he would try his hardest to do so." I mumbled, cutting deeply and gaining another equally cut same size root. "He would do anything for attention." mumbled Hermione, she loudly cut a piece, setting it to her pile. 

"I think he truly is my worst enemy." I said, as I compared the sizes of all the pieces of daisy roots to see if they're the same. "Maybe mine, Ron and Harry's. I think Pansy's your worst enemy." Hermione giggled, dropping all the pieces into her cauldron. "I loath both Pansy and Draco. They're on the same level." I said, with a giggle. Hermione giggled, now skinning her shrivelfig.

"Professor." Draco loudly exclaimed, "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir." Hermione and I stopped what we were doing to watch the three of them. Snape smirked down with his black greasy hair and crooked nose,"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."

"But, Sir -!" Ron whined, his face was red again. "Now," Snape ordered in a dangerous tone. "And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," Malfoy held back his malicious laughter. "Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig." Harry turned pale, watching Snape going back to his desk. "He's such a sly little git." I mumbled, throwing my daisy root pieces in the cauldron.

"He's lucky I don't break his other arm." Hermione muttered, skinning the last shred of skin from her shrivelfig. "I'll help with that if you ever end up doing that." I added, shredding it very carefully. "Imagine." She laughed, stirring her cauldron.

Up next, for our potion was sliced up caterpillars, Hermione handed me some, she cut them slowly in a steady pace, throwing them into her cauldron. She stirred her cauldron, it oozed into a bright, acid green goo. She had done it perfectly, "I finished, do you need any help?" She whispered, watching Snape from the corner of her eye.

"No, I just need to cut up this last caterpillar. I'm almost done, don't worry." I whispered back, the caterpillar slices fell in opposite directions. I plopped the both in the cauldron, stirring it slowly counterclockwise.

I stared at the color, it turned bright green. "Hermione, look! I did it correctly!" I cheered, stirring it one more time to make sure it stays that way. "Finally!" She beamed, looking down at the green gooey texture in my cauldron. 

Hermione and I had followed the textbook's instructions, finally finishing this extremely long potion, Hermione didn't mind, but I dreaded long projects. We sat back into our seats, relaxing a bit until Snape marched his way to our side of the classroom, Hermione and I stopped relaxing. Fixing my posture, I saw Snape's face, but he didn't walk over to us.

He walked over to Neville Longbottom, he was freaking out. His potion had turned into orange, Snape was furious. "Orange, Longbottom." He has shouted it out loud, scooping some of the potion on a spoon, throwing it back in the cauldron. It splashed back, showing that it was orange so everyone would turn around to see his incorrect potion. 

"Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one rat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?" Snape screamed into Neville's face in front of everyone. He was petrified of Snape, this was his worst fear, Snape was his biggest fear.

He looked like he was on the verge of tears, I wanted to help Neville. Neville was my first friend at Hogwarts, witnessing him get yelled at by the teacher he feared the most, I wanted to do his potion for him. Hermione and I exchanged a look, we both had the same thing on our mind, Help Neville. "Please, sir, please, I could help Neville put it in right," Hermione pleaded, as I shook my head to show mercy to Snape. 

"I don't remember asking you two, Miss Granger and Miss Vixen, for your sympathy..." Snape said in a low, harsh voice, we both turned as pink as Neville. "Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly." Snape said, fixing one of the buttons on his robe, walking away from us.

"Help me!" Neville mouthed to the two of us. Hermione and I nodded, we wanted to help him. "What did you forget, Neville?" She asks, lowly, trying to make sure Snape wasn't lurking. "I don't think I put in the brass scales or the leech juice..." He whimpered glancing at the scattered ingredients around his cauldron. "All right, Hermione will instruct you on how much to use and I will hand you the ingredients, ready?" I whispered as Hermione and Neville both nodded at me. Slowly moving out of my seat, I grabbed a bottle of leech juice and a couple of brass scales to gather for Neville. Ron and Harry both stared at me, gesturing over to Malfoy. "We need to talk." Harry mouthed, I nodded at the pair, pacing hastily to my seat.

"Here is the leech juice." I reached under Neville's table, slapping into his hand. He looked up at Hermione, she nodded to proceed. He opened it, beginning to spill it into the cauldron. "When it reaches halfway done. Shut it." Neville nodded, spilling it until the bottle was half empty. He shut it quickly, the cauldron began to bubble, it looked as it started to change colours. 

"Here." I muttered, placing four brass scales into his hand, he looked up to Hermione again. "Three." She mouthed, as he plopped three in, setting the last one to the side. "Stir it slowly, counterclockwise. Hurry now, Neville." Hermione instructed, whipping her head back and forth to see Snape making his way to us. He stirred the cauldron, it began to change to bright green just as Snape had approached Neville.

Hermione and I sat back in our seats, turning our backs to ignore Snape and the whole class watching them.

We heard a faint pop, followed by a group of kids cheering loudly. Hermione and I slowly turned to see the group of Gryffindors clapping and smiling for Neville. Snape has a tadpole in the palm of his hand, Neville smiled widely. Snape looked very sour, he pulled out a small bottle from his pocket, pouring a few drops on top of Trevor. A faint pop was heard again, Trevor was fully grown again.

"Five points from Gryffindor. I told you both not to help him. Class dismissed." He snapped, beginning to walk away from the group of students. The Gryffindor students all stared blankly at Hermione and I. 

"But professor, we hadn't helped. Neville did it all on his own! Hermione and I had our backs turned the whole time." I exclaimed, causing him to turn around. His face grew into a frown, he clearly didn't believe me. "Miss Granger, is this true?" He asks, looking down at Hermione. His crooked nose was just inches away from us. She nodded quickly, Snape backed away from us.

"Still. Five points from Gryffindor, you raised your voice at me, Miss Vixen." He announced, turning away with his black robe flowing in the distance.

I threw all my books into my bag, pushing out from the loud and cheering group of Slytherins. I stood outside of the classroom, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil patted my shoulder as they left the classroom. Hermione walked out followed by Ron and Harry. Ron clearly didn't look happy.

"I can't believe Snape. Five points from Gryffindor because I raised my voice to tell him we didn't help Neville!" I complained, standing behind Ron and Harry, who were just as mad. "He doesn't like us at all, this was evidence to prove." Ron muttered, he clenched his fists, turning around to see my face. "Where'd she go?" He asks, Harry whipped his head around to just see behind them. 

"Oh, she forgot something in the classroom. She'll be back." I said, looking behind me to see if Hermione was anywhere near to break this weird tension. Draco passed the three of us, he winked at us and walked into the Great Hall. "There she is." Harry pointed out, Hermione was panting as she ran up the stairs, there was now a bulge in her robe. She had one hand on her bag, the other holding the bulge in her robe.

"Did you get what you were looking for?" Ron asks, seeing Hermione fix herself. "What? Oh, yes, I did-" A seam in her bag had ripped. Her bag looked heavier than usual, so it wasn't a surprise it ripped. "Why are you carrying all these around with you?" Ron asked again, confused from the amount of books she had in her bag. "You know how many subjects I'm taking, couldn't hold these for me, could you?" Hermione asks, giving the three of us a few books to hold. "Oh, I was included in that question?" Harry mumbled, holding the books in his arms.

Ron still proceeded to ask more and more questions, I think he sensed Hermione wasn't telling them about the Time Turner. "You haven't got any of these subjects today. It's only Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon. I can't wait..." He trailed off, holding the books as his face turned into a dreamy expression. 

"Oh, yes," Hermione said in one breath, placing all the books back into her bag just the way they were before. "I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm starving." She said, marching in front of us to the Great Hall.

"D'you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?" Ron asked the two of us, I shook my head. "Hermione is probably just reading up on those subjects... shall we get a move on? My stomach's staring to grumble." I ask, interlocking my arms with the two boys, strolling off into the Great Hall. 

Ron had shut up now, his face was a bit pink with a little smile growing on his face. I couldn't help but take a few glances at Ron, as we walked to our table. I broke off with Harry and Ron, Ron and I stared blankly at one another. 

Our faces both turning red, I walked off and turned the table to sit next to Hermione. "Ron thinks you're not telling us something. But I saved you, he won't ask again." I mumbled in Hermione's ear as she smiled widely, chewing her sandwich. 

"Oi, Rice Ball." Ron leaned onto the table, his hands were pressed down on the table, his eyes gazing directly at me. "Hm?" I said, not lifting my eyes up from the plate of food that was in front of me. "Do you have any idea what Lupin's first lesson is going to be?" He whispered, looking around to see if any of the other Gryffindors were listening in. 

"No. If you hadn't realized I spend my time mostly with you three." I took a bite out of my sandwich, looking up to see Ron and Harry both looking at me with intrigued eyes.

"I'm sorry but I actually have no clue. We'll all find out together, I'm sure it'll be fun. Do you think so, Harry?" I ask, looking over to Harry who nodded at Ron.

"What if we have to write pages after pages, read pages after pages... I'd think I'd nearly murder myself." Ron chuckled, turning over to Harry who didn't seem to think so. "Maybe not. I much rather believe that Lupin is much cooler than that. I mean he did basically save me from a dementor. Give him more credit, Ron." Harry said, cutting up some steak he had in front of him. 

"But I'm just saying the possibilities!" Ron pointed out, speaking with his mouth full. "I think it'll be marvellous. Whatever Remus has up his sleeve, it'll be good. I hope so." I said, gulping down some pumpkin juice.

As we wrapped up for lunch, we made our way to Professor Lupin's classroom. Everyone looked eager to learn what our first lesson would be, sitting down, taking out all their materials, waiting for him to arrive.

Hermione and I sat behind Ron and Harry, we all had our books, parchment, quills all out. Ron and Harry turned to view Hermione and I. 

"Why am I so bloody excited? Pinch me, Harry." Ron said in one breath to Harry. Harry pinches Ron, letting out a slight wince. "What?" Harry raised his eyebrow, his face was written with a confused expression. 

"You told me to pinch you, Ron." Harry said, looking at Ron, while throwing his hands up defensively. "I didn't mean literally!" Ron yelled, rubbing the spot on his arm that Harry pinched. I rolled my eyes, chuckling at the pair. The chatter died as the door swung open.

Professor Lupin entered the room, he strolled through the desks with a vague smile on his face. Uncle Remus was never the fancy type, he always wore shabby attire, but that never mattered. "Good afternoon, would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wand." Uncle Remus announced. 

Ron and Harry whipped their heads around their shoulders, sharing curious looks between us. I silently put away my things, looking up to Remus who winked at me. He clearly had something impressive up his sleeve. I pulled out my wand, 11 ½, Laurel wood with a unicorn hair core, pliant flexibility. I seized my bag over my shoulder, waiting for my friends to pack up.

"Right then, If you'd follow me." Remus said, everyone was now ready and out of their seats. He held the door open, allowing everyone to line up in the hallway for him to escort us to wherever our lesson was taking place. Harry, Hermione, Ron and I were the last group out, Uncle Remus grinned widely at us, "I think you all will enjoy this." He whispered to us, shutting the door behind us. 

He went to the front of the line, leading us through the deserted corridors. "He has us going in the dungeon to defend the evil ghosts, I reckon." Ron whispered to us. "Or he has a crazy magical creature waiting at the end of the corridor we have to defeat." I added as Hermione and Harry scoffed at the two of us.

"We're just making suggestions." I blurted out as we turned a corridor. The corridor wasn't deserted anymore, Peeves the Poltergeist was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.

Uncle Remus stepped up to Peeves, watching the ghost clown around. I watched Peeves, wiggle his feet up in the air, looking directly at Remus. "Loony, loopy, Lupin... loony, loopy, Lupin, loony, loopy-" Peeves sang loudly, bellowing it out so it echoed through the corridor. 

This however made me mad, I directed my attention to my Uncle, who was still smiling. Even when somebody could be completely rude to him, he was always smiling. "I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves. Mr. Filch won't be able to get into his brooms." Remus pleasantly said.

Peeves paid no attention to Remus' polite observation, instead Peeves blew a loud wet raspberry. Remus turned back to us, letting out a soft sigh and took out his wand. "This is a useful little spell, please watch closely." He said over his shoulder. He raised the wand to shoulder height, "Waddiwasi!" he screamed, pointing it directly at Peeves.

Like a shot of a bullet, the wad of the chewing gum had shot directly into Peeves' left nostril. Peeves whirled up, zoomed away, cursing. "Cool, sir!" Dean Thomas exclaimed in amazement. "Thank you, Dean. Shall we proceed?" Uncle Remus asked, leading the way down into a second corridor.

Lavender Brown shot her head at me, "Is Professor Lupin your uncle?" She whispered, giving me a weird look on her face. "Yes, how'd you know?" I asked as the three both had the same confused expressions on their faces. "Just a thought, ooooh." She replied, whipping her head back to the front. 

"Well, she's a bit weird." Ron mumbled under his breath as we came to a stop. We were right outside the staffroom. "Why are we in the staffroom? You think we can get expelled for this?" Hermione whispered, acting paranoid. 

"Don't worry. We're with our class, we couldn't get in trouble." I whisper back as Remus opened the door for everyone. "Inside, please. Rita, can you shut the door close for me?" He asks, "Oh, all right." I mumbled, waiting for all the students to get into the staffroom.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." Snape ordered from the back of the staffroom. I stepped away from the door, joining my friends in the huge group of students.

The staffroom is a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, which were all empty but one. Snape was sitting in the low armchair, he made his way up with glittering black eyes and the same sneer playing around his mouth. He strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. 

At the doorway, he turned on his heel and stood beside Uncle Remus. I watched from the back of the group with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. 

"Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you to not entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Vixen and Miss Granger are right beside him, hissing instructions in his ears." Snape snapped, glaring deeply at Neville, Hermione and I.

Uncle Remus let out a loud sigh, raising his eyebrows at Snape. He looked over his shoulder, looking to see the expression on my face. My face was brick red, I was embarrassed. Snape had told my Uncle, who I idolized, that I was a terrible student. 

"Very well, Snape. But I would rather you not talk about my niece harshly in front of me, it's not professional. Also, I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation, and I am sure he will perform it admirably." Professor Lupin said in a very serious tone, looking back to Neville who now was red. Snape's lip curled, he left the room, shutting the door with a snap.

"Now, then," Remus said, beckoning the class to the end of the room, there stood an old wardrobe where teachers had kept their spare robes. Remus stood beside it, the wardrobe suddenly wobbled, he gave it a smile, projecting his smile to all of us. "Nothing to worry about, there's a boggart in there."

My face went pale, Uncle Remus brought a boggart? Is he trying to kill us? "Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces, wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under the sink - I once met that lodged itself in my niece's grandfather clock," Uncle Remus spoke, as everyone whipped their heads to me, they stared at me with raised eyebrows. My cheeks turned bright red as Remus let out a loud chuckle.

"This one moved in yesterday afternoon, I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice. So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" Remus asked, searching around to see if anyone had raised their hands. Hermione jumped up and down, waving her hand up in the air from the back. "Miss Granger?"

"It's a shape-shifter, It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most." Hermione replied. "Couldn't have said it better myself." Remus said as Hermione glowed. "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means that we have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?" Uncle Remus called out for Harry, who jumped at the mention of his name.

Hermione jumped up, raising her hand up again. "Er - because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?" Harry questioned as Hermione sighed, throwing down her hand with an attitude. 

"Precisely, it's always the best to have company when you're dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a boggart make that very mistake - tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening." Remus bellowed to the class, pacing back and forth in front of the class.

"The charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me please... Riddikulus!" He said, looking directly at the whole class. 

"Riddikulus!" We all said in sync. "Good, very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville." Remus nodded his head in sympathy, grabbing Neville softly by his arm to the front of the class. 

"Right, Neville, first things first: What would you say is the thing that frightens you most in this world?" Neville's lips trembled in fear, he didn't speak a word. "Didn't catch that, Neville, sorry." Remus cheerfully said, trying to calm Neville down. Neville looked wildly around, he looked at me, then Parvati, Dean, Seamus, Harry.

He looked for help anywhere he could find it, but then in a quiet whisper, "Professor Snape." Everyone around us was laughing, I didn't think it was funny. But Neville grinned apologetically, so I stifled a giggle. "Professor Snape...hmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?" asked Lupin as the laughter died down. 

"Er - yes, but, I don't want the boggart to turn to her either." Neville nervously said. "No, no, you misunderstand me, I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?" Remus asks, as Neville nervously tried to remember.

"Do you think when Neville hits the boggart with the charm, Snape will be in Neville's grandmother's clothes?" I asked my friends, trying to keep my voice low. "Yes, that's what the charm does, if you think about whatever, in Neville's case, is his grandmother's clothing, and say the countercharm, the boggart will be Snape in his grandmother's clothes, which is something amusing." Hermione explained, whispering to me. "That's going to be hilarious." Ron blurted out, whispering to us. "I'd like to see this." Harry added, our direction turning back to Remus and Neville.

"Right then, can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?" Remus asks, crouching down to Neville. "Yes." Neville said uncertainly, we were all worried of what is going to come next. 

"When the boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape, and you will raise your wand - thus - and cry 'Riddikulus!' - and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that green dress, with that big red handbag." The four of us burst into a bubble of laughter, the thought of Snape in a dress was the funniest thing to imagine. The wardrobe wobbled a bit more violently.

"If Neville is successful, the boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn. I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you the most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical...." Remus announced, as the room fell silent.

What would my boggart be... I thought to myself. Would it be bugs, I am deathly afraid of bugs...no, I don't think so...my parents and Uncle Remus dying... Oh, that's the one.... What is the thing that makes me laugh the most? 

When I say Riddikulus, it'll turn to a group of dancing fish. Yeah, that'll be good... "Dancing fish." I muttered beneath my breath, hearing Ron beside me saying "Take its legs off." Which made me feel a bit comfortable that Ron was also nervous. "Everyone ready?" yelled Professor Lupin.

I nodded, rolling up my sleeves, putting my hair back into a ponytail. I was ready to face my fear and make it into something funny. "Neville, we're going to back away, let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward... Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot -" Uncle Remus hit the record player on, playing a jazzy tune as we began to start to get ready for the Boggart.

I retreated back, backing up into the wall, leaving Neville and the wardrobe in the middle of the classroom. Neville's back was turned to me, he lifted up his sleeves, shaking, pointing his wand directly at the wardrobe. "On the count of three, Neville... One - two - now!" Remus shouted, blasting a few sparks from the end of his wand at the door knob. 

The wardrobe swung open, Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Boggart Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville. Neville backed up a few feet, his wand still up in the air. Snape was bearing down at him, reaching the inside of his robes.

"R-R-Riddikulus!" squeaked Neville. The noise was a crack sound, Snape stumbled, he was now wearing a long lace green dress, a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag. 

Hermione, Harry, Ron and I roared with laughter, watching the Boggart stumble around in high heels, confused at the laughter. "Rita! Forward!" Professor Lupin shouted, glancing down at me.

I took a deep breath, approaching the Boggart, I closed my eyes, taking another deep breath as I stared at the Boggart. Snape rounded on me, then there was a crack! 

Where Snape was now was my Mum, Dad and Remus, withering away, their bodies looked gray and pale, their eyes turned white, their skin looking like it was one crack away from breaking. 

There was a moment of silence, the three of them tried to float towards me, smiling at me with a toothless wide grin. "Riddikulus!" I pointed my wand, crying the countercharm to get this horrific sight out of my face. 

The three of them swirled around like a twister, shrinking down to a group of three large fish tap dancing right in front of me. "Parvati!" Uncle Remus shouted, as I backed up to my friends who were roaring with laughter.

"Dancing fish?" Hermione asks, throwing her back in pure joy. The dancing fish rounded on Parvati, changing into a blood-stained, bandaged mummy. It's faceless self, limped to Parvati, but she shouted, "Riddikulus!" 

A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet, it became entangled! It fell face forward, its head rolling off its body. "Seamus!" roared Professor Lupin as the jazz music started to grow louder. Everyone was now getting confident and ready to face their Boggarts.

Crack! A woman with floor length, black hair and a skeletal green face, it was a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek. I plugged my ears, with my fingers, looking up to Seamus who pointed his wand at the Boggart.

A muffled "Riddikulus" was heard throughout the room, Crack! The banshee was now a rat, crack, became a rattlesnake, which slithered before, crack, becoming a single, bloody eyeball. "It's confused! We're getting there! Dean!" Uncle Remus shouted, as Dean hurried forward.

Crack! The eyeball was now a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep around the floor like a crab. "Riddikulus!" yelled Dean, there was a snap, and the hand became trapped in a mousetrap. "Excellent! Ron, you next!" Uncle Remus roared, Ron leapt forward. Crack! A giant spider was now the Boggart, six feet tall, covered in hair, its pincers menacingly, it was making a move on Ron. 

"Come on, Ronnie." I muttered underneath my breath, as Ron bellowed "Riddikulus!" The spider's legs vanished, it rolled over and over like a big hairy brown bouncy ball. It came to a halt, staring directly at Harry. 

Professor Lupin jumped right in front of Harry. "Here!" He shouted, covering Harry so the Boggart wouldn't turn into his biggest fears. Crack!

The legless spider vanished, now was a silvery-white orb in the air, right in front of Remus. I tried to decipher what it was, but the only thing that came to mind was either cheese or the moon. "Riddikulus!" Remus shouted, lazily. Crack! "Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" The orb was now a cockroach, crawling around in circles. 

Neville stepped forward, radiating confidence, Crack! There was Professor Snape again. "Riddikulus!" Neville screamed, there was a split-second of Snape in Neville's grandmother's clothes before Neville let out a great laugh and then the boggart exploded. Thousands of tiny little wisps of smoke, then puffed away into the atmosphere.

"Excellent!" Professor Lupin broke into applause as we all joined, clapping loudly for each other. "You guys performed wonderfully!" Hermione cheered for Ron and I, nodding with a grin on her face. "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone... Let me see, five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the boggart - ten for Neville because he did it twice... and five to each Hermione and Harry." 

Remus wrote down on his little portable notebook, closing it shut and pushing it into his robe pocket. "But I didn't do anything?" Harry questioned, raising his eyebrows at Remus. He looked rather confused on why he hadn't been able to do it and why Remus blocked him.

"You and Hermione answered my question correctly at the start of the class, Harry. Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on boggarts and summarize it for...to be handed in on Monday. That will be all. Rita Pita, can you come see me before you set off?" Remus announced in front of the class, my cheeks turned a bit red. Uncle Remus called me his nickname in front of my whole Gryffindor group, I was embarrassed. 

"We'll wait for you outside, Ri." Hermione whispered to me, walking ahead of the boys to stand outside of the classroom for me. "Seeing that boggart was pretty nerve racking, was it?" He asks, looking down at me. 

"Yeah. I don't ever want to see that, Uncle Remus. But I knew it wasn't real, so I took a deep breath and gave it my best shot." I admitted, taking my hair out of the ponytail I had put it in.

"That was pure bravery. I just wanted to say I'm proud of you, all right? I love you, Rita Pita." He kissed my head, smiling at me. "Thank you, Uncle Remus. That means a lot coming from you, and what Snape said -" I tried to bring up, but Uncle Remus shook his head. 

"You were trying to help Neville, yes? Neville is your friend, Snape doesn't know what friends are." He cleared his throat, looking out the classroom to notice my three friends perking their heads through the door. 

"All right, your friends are being a bit nosy. Go on, I'll see you later." He hugged me goodbye, as I pushed my wand into my pocket and strode out of the classroom.

"Rita Pita!" Ron cried, screeching the nickname my Uncle gave me out loud as we walked down the corridors to the Dart Arts classroom to fetch our things. 

"Can you not!" I yelled, hitting Ron's shoulder with all my might as he laughed even harder. "That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" Ron exclaimed, his face was beaming with delight, he was way too excited from our lesson. 

"He seems like a very good teacher, but I wish I could have had a turn with the boggart -" Hermione added, in her usual serious tone. 

"What would it have been for you? A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten!" Ron roared with laughter as Harry stifled a chuckle. Hermione didn't look too pleased at the two boys. 

We stepped inside of the classroom, gathering our bags and made our way to the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione and I sat down on the large red fluffy couch, as Harry and Ron sat on the floor, playing Wizard's chess. I laid across the couch, my head resting on Hermione's side. "If you could be one magical creature, what would you be and why?" I ask, looking up at Hermione.

"If I had to choose, I'd be a unicorn, because unicorns are fragile creatures, pure and sacred creatures, and they're incredibly beautiful. What about you?" She peered over to me, looking down at my chocolate cherry curls.

"I think I would be a Fire Dwelling Salamander, don't you agree?" I ask, throwing up a piece of paper up that I crumpled up into a sphere shape, in the air. 

"I can see that." Hermione noted, flipping the page to the next passage in her book. "Take that, Ron!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his fist up in the air, excitedly. "Harry! That's not fair, you know, that move wasn't fair! I call a rematch." Ron angrily said, hitting the chessboard with his fist.

Ron never lost in Wizard's chess, I could never beat him in it. I looked over watching the two boys shout at each other, Harry was gloating with pride while Ron was trying to get a rematch out of Harry. 

"They're such idiots", I blurted out to Hermione who shut her book quickly, looking down at me. "Oh, I know." She rolls her eyes.

Dinner was finally here, the four of us ran through the corridors extra early, so we could roam the halls a bit before we went to eat.

Passing through the Gryffindor tower, we saw the thousands of paintings hung on all the walls, a dim firelight lit up the halls blazing brightly as we passed down the spiral stairs. Exploring the castle with my friends was always a fun experience. "Where should we go next?" Harry asks, panting a bit from the hundreds of steps we just climbed.

"We have an hour til dinner is served, how about we go down there?" Hermione pointed down to a dark lit corridor, darting between all our faces to see if we were on board.

"All right," I nodded, skipping into the deep dark corridor, "How can you be so giddy walking into a deep dark corridor?" Ron asks, with a high pitch in his voice.

"Are you lot not coming with?" I turned to the three on the balls of heels, staring at them. "No, we're coming." Harry sighed, running to me with Ron and Hermione following behind.

"This looks like a secret passage." Hermione said, facing into the dark corridor, touching the stone walls with pure excitement.

"What if it is, how cool would that be?" I added, whipping my head around to her. "Incredibly cool." Hermione added, still gawking at the long narrow passage we had found. 

Exploring the long stone corridor, we all stared at the paintings who were looking down at us with pure disgust. Rowdy chatter was heard from the bottom of the stairs, Harry stopped short causing all of us to bump into each other. 

Ron and I bumped into each other, our faces turning brick red as we shimmed away from each other. 

"Do you hear that?" Harry asked, whispering, so we could hear the loud chatter from the bottom of the stairs. "It sounds like laughter." Ron pointed out, resting his ear on the wall of the corridor to hear more.

We heard shifting and laughter advancing on us, we backed up suddenly, retreating to the lit corridor we were in before we decided to go down this corridor. "Can you believe them?" The voice echoed throughout the corridor, my face went pale. It was Draco Malfoy's. 

"We're a passage to the Slytherin common room! Retreat! Retreat!" I whisper shouted, as Hermione skidded out, then me followed by Ron and Harry. 

"Where to hide?" Ron asked in a whisper, as we exited out of the dim lit corridor. "There!" Hermione shouted, pointing to a standing knight in armour.

We quickly stacked behind the knight, each holding onto each other's shoulders, trying to stay as still as possible. 

Draco and his goons strolled out of the corridor, laughing and chuckling loudly as they strunted out of the secret passage. Draco stopped short in front of the knight, staring at the knight with a weird look. 

"Does that knight look weird to you?" Draco asked his goons in a loud, lazy drawl. "No?" Crabbe and Goyle both said, as Draco shrugged and continued their walk to the Great Hall.

"That was a close one." I whispered, whipping my head to see who the person standing behind was. Ron's freckled face turned bright red as he grinned widely at me, the tips of his ears turned an ever brighter shade of red. 

"Come on, let's get going. I'm starving." Harry grabbed Ron by the shoulder, pulling him ahead of us, as we began our stroll to the Great Hall. 

The plates filled up with rice balls, rice pudding, bangers and mash, roasted potatoes, roasted chicken, roasted pork, and more that I didn't put on my plate. Hermione, Harry, Ron and I engaged in conversations about Snape's class and Remus' class, how the atmosphere was completely different in both and how we much rather have Remus as our potions teacher too, so he would be fair.

Ron kept picking the rice balls off my plate, smiling at me with a mouth full of rice balls, showing me he had taken my rice balls. I scowled at him, raising my hand up to smack Ron, but he laughed hard, almost choking on his food.

"See, you take my rice balls and now you almost choke yourself! Payback!" I laugh, as Ron rolled his eyes at me, taking another potato off of my plate.


	5. risky business

Over the past few weeks, through a long, busy September, Uncle Remus's class has quickly become most people's favourite. Everyone admired him, except, of course, Draco Malfoy, who seemed to have nothing but harsh things to say.

"Look at the state of his robes, he dresses like our old house elf." Draco would say everytime Uncle Remus passed him in the corridor.

It seemed as everyone was now being a bit more nicer to me now that everyone found out my uncle is the favorite teacher at Hogwarts. His classes were more interesting after the other: Harry, Ron, Hermione and I had fought Redcaps, nasty little goblin-like creatures that lurked whenever they smelt blood, in the dungeons of the castle. From Redcaps, we moved on to kappas, creepy water-dwellers that looked like scaly monkeys, with webbed hands kind of like duck feet, itching to find unwitting wanderers in their ponds. And after every lesson, Uncle Remus invited me for tea in his office, asking me about my day.

Day after day conversation flowed from how each of my classes went, how lunch went, how hanging out with my friends went. I would explain thoroughly to Remus, who seemed intrigued each time I rambled on about my day.

Sometimes I even bring Soupy to his office, she would jump on top of his desk, spreading out on top of his paperwork, sleeping soundly.

Hermione and I had been teaching Soupy and Crookshanks new tricks and planned to buy them new toys when we went on our first trip to Hogsmeade. They were amazingly eager to learn tricks, strangely enough.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and I did our homework every day in the quiet, dimly lit common room, the radio humming as we wrote the answers.

I burst into song, threw my homework on the couch, used my wand as a microphone, and sang the faint music playing in the background. Harry was my backup singer, clapping and buzzing to the beat of the music as I strutted around the three of them singing to each of them.

The days flew by, and just around the corner Quidditch season began. I was more than excited to start practicing. 

The day before Quidditch practice started, Hermione and Ron planned out one last chilled out common room the night before Harry and I started Quidditch.

I sat back on the red fluffy couch in a crisscross position, tapping my quill against my temple, figuring out a chart for Divination, we had to match the symbols with their correct meanings. 

Hermione rocked back and forth in one of the fancy armchairs in front of the fire, whispering answers to herself. Harry sank back in the other fancy armchair, sighing loudly when he got to a new question. 

The music was weak in the background, Ron cast several glances at me. He must have wondered when I would break out into a song and dance, he looked bored while staring down at the skull symbol.

"Can't Take My Eyes off You" by Frankie Valli's instrumental vaguely played throughout the quiet common room. Removing my parchment and quill from my lap and onto the open seat of the couch, I went over to the radio. I turned the dial up, sensing Ron's eyes, watch my back. 

I pulled my wand out of my pocket and turned around dramatically to face the group, flicking back and forth between the trio, eliciting a small flirtatious smile. "You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you..." I sang softly, holding my wand under my chin.

Hermione and Harry's books shut closed as they both watched me, stifling into smiles. Singing the intro to the song off-key, I skipped in a circle around the three. As the chorus eased into the song with the trumpets playing, I stopped skipping and sat on Harry's armchair. 

He put his fingers up to play an air trumpet, pretending to play it. "I love you, baby, and if it's quite alright I need you baby to warm the lonely night!" I sang even more off-key than I was before, shouting the lyrics into my fake microphone. 

I got up from the chair, sitting down next to Hermione, screeching the lyrics into her ear. "I want to hold you so much!" I screeched, engulfing Hermione into a tight squeeze, the boys roared with laughter. 

As the song started to end, I put my hands on Ron's cheeks, "Trust me when I say, Oh pretty baby!" I squeezed his cheeks, he snorted as the instrumental started to fade away.

The three clapped their hands frantically, cheering for me, "Encore!" Harry shouted. I bowed deeply, returning to my place on the couch. The common room turned quiet again, the music still playing a bit more loudly now through the old radio.

We wrapped our chart making, piling them all on the coffee table in the middle of us. 

"How exciting that Quidditch season starts tomorrow! Hermione and I are going to get the highest seats and cheer you both on." Ron giddily said, his freckled face growing into a grin. 

"Even if I'm terrible at flying, Quidditch is actually quite fascinating." Hermione admitted, not lifting her eyes up from the book open in her lap.

"I'm actually really excited about Quidditch to start back up, especially with all the Black stuff, this will help me to distract myself." said Harry, his eyes twinkled when he spoke about Quidditch. 

"I'm glad that you have something to look forward to, I know how much has been on your mind..." I trailed off, my eyes locked on the burning fireplace in front of me. I cared deeply about all my friends, especially when it comes down to Hermione, Ron and Harry. Over the course of three years we spent together, I couldn't picture it with anyone else. "And our first game of the season is versus the Slytherins." I picked up the conversation,

Harry turned to me with a keen look in his eye. "We're going to crush stupid Malfoy and shut him up with his stupid comments." Harry was confident that our team was going to beat the Slytherins to dust when we're on the pitch. 

"Maybe you will even get to tackle Malfoy in the pitch?" Ron added, Hermione's face flew straight up from her book glaring at Ron. "What? That's just some food for thought!" He exclaimed, I snickered at his remark. 

"Whatever happens in the pitch, happens." Harry shrugged, he appeared as he was thinking about actually fighting Malfoy. 

"If the Bludger ends up hitting Malfoy, you'll know who to blame." I chuckled with the two boys, Hermione lifted up her head again with raised eyebrows. She rolled her eyes and continued reading.

The next day, Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor team, called a meeting to discuss tactics for the new season. 

Oliver was in love with the game Quidditch, never paid attention to any girls, it was always Quidditch and what tricks he had up his sleeve to win the Quidditch cup. He was now in his seventh year, which was his final year at Hogwarts.

There was some sort of desperation in his voice as he addressed our team in the chilly locker rooms that resided on the darkened end of the field. Sitting on the freezing cold bench, I was in between Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell. Oliver Wood was striding up and down in front of us. 

"This is our last chance - my last chance - to win the Quidditch Cup, I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it. Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world - injuries - then the tournament getting called off last year..." He swallowed as if the memory had brought a lump in his throat. 

"But we also know we've got the best - ruddy - team - in - the - school," Oliver punched a fist in his other hand, with the manic glint back in his eye.

"We've got three superb Chasers." He continued, pointing at Angelina, Katie and I. We all nodded our heads in determination, with wide grins upon our cheeks. 

"We've got two unbeatable Beaters." Fred and George dramatically sighed, "Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us." they said in sync, pretending to blush, I let out a snort as they chuckled at me. 

"And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!" Oliver glared down at Harry, but not a mean look, he had furious pride in his eyes. "And me," Oliver added as an afterthought. 

"We think you're very good too, Oliver." George noted, as the whole team nodded collectively. "Spanking good Keeper," Fred added as he said with a cheeky angled grin.

"The point is," Oliver resumed his pacing back and front in front of us, "the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally see our name on the thing..." Oliver said, getting lost in his thoughts. 

The only thing that Oliver ever wanted was the Quidditch Cup; during his whole time at Hogwarts, he was never able to achieve it. But this year we were all confident we would get it.

"Oliver, this year's our year," exclaimed Fred, as he got up out of his seat to exclaim it in Wood's face. "We'll do it, Oliver!" exclaimed Angelina. "The Quidditch Cup is ours!" I shouted, the locker room flooded with clapping and determination. "Definitely!" Harry added. 

Three evenings a week, we were training with full determination and the Quidditch Cup in our heads. The weather started to get colder and wetter, the nights darker, but no amount of mud, wind, rain could tarnish our spirits.

"I'm knackered from that training session." I yawn next to Harry, carrying my large Quidditch bag. The evening was cool and the wind had picked up a little bit, I wore a sweater and sweatpants, garnished with a beanie and scarf. The rest of the team reported back to the common room with us after a long, rowdy, sweaty training session. 

"I don't think I can move my hand up." Harry swallows and steps beside me with a worrying expression on his face. He moved his hand up slightly, but he winced with pain when we approached the corridor to the common room. 

"Don't move it. You're sore, it's normal. One night of good sleep will heal you up." I said to Harry, as George whispered to the Fat Lady.

The portrait swung open, we all crawled inside as Ron and Hermione's head whipped to the sudden crack. Ron and Hermione smile at the two of us, gesturing for us to come forward. 

"What's happened?" Harry asked the two, they were sitting in the two fancy armchairs by the fire, completing the Astronomy charts. 

"First Hogsmeade weekend, end of October. Halloween." Ron pointed at a notice that hung on the battered old bulletin board. My tiredness vanished when Ron mentioned Hogsmeade. 

Fred and George, who were behind us, listened to Ron's announcement, Fred cracked a smirk. "Excellent, I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets." He said behind us, patting our shoulders and meeting up with his friends, George waved and followed.

I sat down in one of the rocking chairs beside Hermione, laid across the chair, my legs hanging off from the arm of the chair. Harry was relaxed next to Ron, but he didn't look as happy as before. The mention of Hogsmeade crushed Harry's high spirits. 

"Harry, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time, they're bound to catch Black soon. He's been sighted once already." Hermione sighed, I wasn't the only one who noticed Harry's distressed face. 

"Black's not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade, ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might be ages -" Ron encouraged a pretty much terrible plan, but did it hurt to try? "Ron! Harry's supposed to stay in school -" Hermione glared at Ron viciously.

I sank back into my chair, "Harry, it doesn't hurt to try. Ron's right about Hogsmeade though, he wouldn't try to come to the only wizarding village in London." I mentioned, but Hermione didn't agree at all, but she sighed, she was annoyed. 

"Yeah, I think I will," Harry nodded, he made up his mind. Ron and I smiled, Harry now had another chance coming to Hogsmeade with us. 

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Soupy and Crookshanks ran down the stairs, Crookshanks seemed to have something in his mouth. Soupy jumped onto me, rubbing her head on my arm.

"Hello, Miss Fluffykins!" I squeaked, petting her as she meowed excitedly. Looking over to Hermione, Crookshanks had a large, dead spider dangling from his mouth. 

"Does he have to eat that in front of us?" Ron said, scowling at Hermione and the disgusting sight of a dead spider in the cat's mouth. 

"Clever Crookshanks, did you catch that all by yourself?" Hermione praised her cat, putting him as he chomped down the spider. 

"Keep both of your cats over there, that's all, I've got Scabbers asleep in my bag." Ron ordered, staring at both Crookshanks and Soupy with disgusted frowns upon his face.

"Rita, don't forget your star chart, it's easy. Especially since you love the stars, it'll be a quick assignment." Hermione pointed out, pushing my bag over to me with her foot. 

"All right." I yawned, pushing Soupy over to the arm of the chair, so I could gather my homework. 

Hermione was right, the star chart was unexpectedly easy, in less than ten minutes, I breezed through it and put it back in my bag.

"Oy!" Ron roared, his frown growing more. I lifted up my head to see what was going on, a sight I thought I would never see, Ron and Crookshanks fighting. Ron seized his bag, flinging it around while Crookshanks had dug his claws into it.

"Get off, you stupid animal!" He screamed, Crookshanks spat and began to rip Ron's bag. Making sure Soupy had no part in this, I turned over to see Soupy in a curled up ball, sleeping peacefully on the armrest. "Ron, don't hurt him!" Hermione cried, the whole common room was watching the scene.

Scabbers came flying out from the top of the bag, starting to run away. "Catch that cat!" Ron yelled as Crookshanks sprinted off of Ron's bag, sprang over the table and ran after the terrified Scabbers. George made a lunge for Crookshanks but missed terribly, he had a low hit in his ankle, he fell down to the floor. 

Scabbers streaked through twenty pairs of legs and shot under an old chest of drawers. Crookshanks skidded to a halt, crouched on his low, chubby legs, starting to swipe beneath the chest with his front paws. 

Ron and Hermione pushed through the crowd, Hermione heaved Crookshanks by the stomach, and heaved him away. She sat down next to me, clinging onto the cat as he tried to fight his way out of the grip.

Whereas, Ron threw himself on his stomach, trying to pull Scabbers out, which he successfully did.

"Look at him!" he viciously snapped at Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. "He's skin and bone! You both keep your cats away from poor Scabbers!" Ron cried, cupping Scabbers in his hands, trying to calm down the cat. 

"Crookshanks didn't understand it's wrong! All cats chase rats, Ron!" Hermione snapped back, screaming in Ron's face. 

"There's something funny about that animal! It heard me say that Scabbers was in my bag!" Ron tried to force Scabbers back in his pocket, but Scabbers tried to fight away from Ron, squirming around in his hand. 

"Oh, what rubbish, Crookshanks could smell him, Ron, how else d'you think -" Hermione impatiently yelled back.

The two of them stood in front of each other, both raging with anger from one another. "That cat's got it in for Scabbers! And Scabbers was here first, and he's ill!" Ron yelled, as giggles started to fill the room. 

"Can you both shut up? I don't want to hear your nonsense arguing about animals! I'm going to my room, maybe you should realise that no one wants to hear the same bickering about cats and rats over and over again! My poor Soupy doesn't hurt any soul, but Ron must mention her, because she's a cat! I'm over it, I'm going to sleep!" I shout, grabbing Soupy with one arm, the other with my bag. 

Hermione and Ron both stammered behind me, trying to yell for me, but I ignored. I stomped up the steps, throwing my bag onto the floor and Soupy on my bed. I sat in my bed, cuddling with Soupy as I ranted in my head over the two.

Hermione, the next morning, stood over me and shook me nicely to wake up. I opened my eyes, seeing her with an apologetic look on her face and my uniform on a hook that she settled nicely on my bed. "Good morning, Mione." I hoisted myself up with my elbows, taking the blankets off of me. 

"Good Morning. I wanted to apologize for arguing last night, erm, here is your uniform, I got it ready for you. Do you still want to be my friend?" She apologetically asked, looking down at her knees, playing with her fingers nervously. 

"Of course I still want to be your friend, just because there is one silly argument that doesn't mean we break up! You're my best friend, Mione!" I pulled her down into a hug, squeezing her tightly as she let out a relieved sigh. 

"I was nervous," she admitted, shaking her head, "Go get dressed. I'll be waiting." She smiled, sitting down on her to pack her school bag for the day.

I went to the bathroom, fixed my burgundy curls and put on a headband to keep my hair out of my eyes, but my bangs jumped up and rested on my eyebrows. I quickly slipped into my uniform, and rushed to put my contacts in.

We strolled out of the common room, peering over the banister to see Ron and Harry waiting at the bottom of the steps for us. 

"Is he mad at you?" I whispered under my breath as she nodded her head, "You're mad at him?" I nodded at her, as we strode down the steps. 

"Morning." Ron said, with an apologetic slight smile on his face. "Morning, Harry, Ron." I smiled back, striding in front of the group to our first class, Herbology. 

Ron slid out of the portrait hole, trying to catch up to me while Hermione and Harry walked behind us. 

"Rita?" Ron called, panting as he caught up, panting beside me. "Hm?" I said, raising an eyebrow, not trying to make eye contact. 

"I'm sorry." He grumbled, the tips of his ears turning red. "It's all right." I giggle, interlocking our arms together, skipping to the courtyard to one of the greenhouses. Ron didn't want to skip, so he accompanied me as I dragged him through the corridors.

In the greenhouse, the four of us were working together on the same puffapod. Ron and Hermione were both in a bad mood. Harry and I awkwardly stood beside each other as the two death stared at each other. 

"How's Scabbers?" Hermione timidly asked, breaking the silence between us all. Stripping fat pink pods from the plants, emptying shining beans into a wooden pail, I watched the two scowl at each other. The beans sprouted quickly, as I gasped at the breathtaking sight.

"He's hiding at the bottom of my bed, shaking." Ron angrily growled, missing the wooden pail and sprinkling the beans all over the greenhouse floor. 

"Careful, Weasley, careful!" cried Professor Sprout. The beans burst into bloom right before our eyes.

"Great." I mumbled as a whole beanstalk bloomed right next to Ron.

The bell had rung and we set off for our next class, Transfiguration. Harry's time to ask McGonagall if he could come to Hogsmeade for the last time was after class.

We joined the line outside of the classroom, but in the front of the line, Lavender was crying while Parvati consulted her, Seamus and Dean looked very serious listening to what Parvati had to say.

We anxiously walked up to the group, Lavender was sobbing. "What's the matter, Lavender?" Hermione asked. 

"Did anything happen?" I ask, as Parvati opens her mouth and whispers, "She got a letter from home this morning. It's her rabbit Binky. He's been killed by a fox." I gasped rubbing Lavender's arm to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Lav." I whispered to her as she shook her head, more tears shedding out of the corners of her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry, Lavender." Hermione grimly said, she turned to me with a pout.

"I should have known! You know what day it is!" cried Lavender tragically, more tears streaming down her face. 

"Um?" I said as Hermione said, "Erm." We shared a look, did we forget her birthday? 

"The sixteenth of October! 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October!' Remember? She was right, she was right!" Lavender had probably cried a bit louder, the whole class now gathered around Lavender, worried about her. 

Hermione's whole face changed, she hesitated, and said "You - you were dreading Binky being killed by a fox?"

I bit my tongue, and slapped the palm of my hand onto my forehead. Hermione hates Divination, she thinks it's rubbish and a guessing game. At any given chance, Hermione would hit logic with something that had to with Divination, and in this case, had to deal with Lavender Brown's bunny's death. 

"Well, not necessarily by a fox, but I was obviously dreading him dying, wasn't I?" Lavender looked up to Hermione with streaming eyes. 

"Oh," Hermione said, then hesitated again, "Was Binky an old rabbit?"

"N-no! H-he was only a baby!" Lavender sobbed even harder, Parvati tightened her arm around Lavender's shoulders. 

"But then, why would you dread him dying?" Hermione asked, Parvati shot her eye-view at Hermione and glared at her. 

"Well, look at it logically," Hermione said, turning to the rest of the group. 

"Hermione," I sighed, pulling her into the classroom, but she slapped my hand. 

"I mean, Binky didn't even die today, die he? Lavender just got the news today," at the mention of Binky, Lavender wailed loudly, "and she can't have been dreading it, because it's come to a real shock -" Hermione logically explained, but members of the group clearly didn't agree.

"I'm really sorry for your loss though, Lav." I cooed Lavender, patting her shoulder to show I was there for her. 

"Don't mind Hermione, Lavender, she doesn't think other people's pets matter very much," Ron loudly said, pushing the group to stand beside me and console Lavender with me. I exchanged glances with Ron, we both had expressionless looks on our faces, we comforted Lavender further.

Professor McGonagall swung open the classroom door, which was a gift sent from Godric. Hermione had a menacing look in her eyes, she was about to smack him or of some sort.

Harry and I were sitting next to each other, Hermione was sitting on my side, Ron was on his side, they had been quiet and hadn't spoken to each other during class. Lavender and Parvati looked at the four of us, strange looks in their eyes.

Harry whispered to the four of us on what he was going to say about Hogsmeade to McGonagall. "Tell her you really want to come with us," I whispered to him, as I looked down at my notes. 

"Mention your aunt and uncle forgot to sign it," Ron whispered to Harry.

"One moment, please!" McGonagall called as the whole class began to get up out of their seats to leave, "As you're all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!" I pulled out my Hogsmeade permission slip that sat in the front pocket of my bag, away from all of my books. 

"Please, Professor, I - I think I've lost -" Neville raised his hand up in the air, waving it around in a circle. 

"You grandmother sent me yours directly, Longbottom, she seemed to think it was safer. Well, that's all, you may leave." 

Everyone lined up in a long line behind McGonagall's desk, I handed my permission slip to McGonagall, as she smiled, I went back to my seat.

Harry stood by his seat, playing with his fingers nervously. "Doesn't hurt to try." I spoke up, holding his arm, trying to calm him down. "Ask her now," Ron hissed from behind me, 

"Oh, but -" Hermione began. 

"Go for it, Harry." Ron stubbornly said, Harry nodded and walked to Professor McGonagall's desk. Hermione, Ron and I stood in a triangle, in awkward silence. 

"I hope she says yes," I whispered at the two as Hermione rolled her eyes, she didn't approve of Harry going. 

"I hope so too." Ron added, whipping his head back and forth to see McGonagall's face. Harry looked back at us, while Ron vigorously nodded to egg him on to ask more. 

"You four better hurry or you'll be late for your next lesson..." McGonagall raised her voice, she seemed very sympathetic, but Harry's face said it all.

Dashing out of the classroom, Ron called McGonagall a bunch of names, which annoyed me and Hermione, but I brushed it off. "Harry, I won't go..." I blurted out as Hermione and Ron shouted 

"No!" at the same time, but Harry shook his head. 

"You don't need to stay behind for me." He said, looking gloomily. Hermione had an all-for-the-best look on her face that made Ron fierier.

We walked into Divination, and everywhere we walked, someone was talking about Hogsmeade. Harry's blankly looked down at his hands, trying to ignore everyone's chatter about Hogsmeade. 

"There's always the feast, you know, the Halloween feast." Ron said, in an effort to cheer Harry up.

"Yeah, great." Harry gloomily said, not moving his head to look at any of us. 

"I'm sorry, Harry." I added, swallowing a lump in my throat.

Divination had wrapped up, the three broke off from me, going to the common room as I made my way up to Uncle Remus' class for our daily conversations.

I knocked on the oak door, Remus opened up with a wide grin.

"Come in, come in!" He instructed, closing the door behind me and pulling the chair out in front of his desk for me. I sat down, and he grabbed the whistling kettle.

"How was your day?" I ask, as he lifted his eyes up while he poured the tea into the cup. "

I had the Slytherins today, they didn't dare to start a fuss in the class, they were too focused on this lovely fellow." He pointed over to the tank filled with a weird horse-like aquatic creature with kelp as its mane, his eyes were hidden behind the kelp, they seemed to be little balls of red orbs in his eyes. 

"What is that?" I looked at the small animal that splashed around in the tank.

"It's classified as a Kelpie, you know, the Loch Ness Monster? That is what that is, but this one is more of a tiny version. Feisty creatures, I'll tell you that." He laughed, handing me a cup of tea. 

"How's Quidditch training?" He said through a loud gulp from the teacup, placing it down on his desk. 

"Everyone is full of determination, we keep doing drills and pushing everyone to our full potential, my arms are still sore from yesterday's practice." I explained as Remus nodded, listening to everything I had to say. 

"Are you still fighting with Ron and Hermione?" He asks, with raised eyebrows. I shook my head, 

"No, no, they both apologized to me...now they're in their own argument." I explained the whole fight with Crookshanks and Scabbers in the common room as Remus listened to every word, waiting to put his input in.

"You think they're sick of each other? Well, I think they just need to have a good day together and realize what good friends they are, it seems as if they forgot. When you all go to Hogsmeade, that'll be a great bonding experience for you lot." He added, I nodded my head in agreement, Uncle Remus was always right when it came to stupid problems that occurred in my life. 

He looked down at his watch, and shook his head. "Time for dinner, let's walk down together, shall we?" I nodded my head.

We walked down the marble staircase, and joined the crowd of both teachers and students, butting their way into the entrance of the Great Hall. 

"Rita!" Hermione called from behind as I whipped my head, noticing the three of them. "Hi!" Hermione and Ron both said in sync, glaring at one another as they waved up at me. 

Hagrid pushed through the huge crowd, "Remus, walk wi'h me." Hagrid blurted out as he smiled down at me. 

"I'll meet up with them, see you later." I waved to my uncle, pushing through the large group of loud and obnoxious second years. We fought our way to our usual seats at the Gryffindor table, Seamus and Dean sat on Ron and Harry's sides, knowingly of Harry's problem.

As the food appeared on the plates in front of us, everyone made their plates, taking double looks at Harry to check if he was eating. 

"Harry, I'm good with a quill, y'know. I can forge your uncle's signature, if you'd like?" Dean suggested, breaking the silence between us. 

"I already told McGonagall that he didn't sign my permission form, that's off the table." He grumbled, shovelling food into his mouth. 

"The Invisibility Cloak?" Ron halfheartedly suggested. 

"No, remember the dementors and what Dumbledore said about them?" Hermione reminded Ron, who grumbled to himself. 

"Once again, I'm really sorry Harry. My offer is still on the table if you want me to stay-" I blurted out as Ron swatted his hand frantically in his seat across from me. 

"I appreciate that, but no. You lot have a great time, I'll catch up on my homework." Harry gloomily commented, Percy had heard the conversation from the front of the table. He came and sat next to Harry, giving him some helpful words. 

On Halloween morning, Hermione snatched my blankets off my body, shaking me vigorously. "Hogsmeade today!" She shouted in my ear, as I jumped out of my sleep.

"Blimey." I huffed, kicking off my bed. Hermione was already dressed up, she had her beanie over her head, paired with a matching scarf, mittens. She wore a big jumper with skinny jeans and boots, holding a jacket in her hand. 

"Get dressed for snowy weather! It snows in Hogsmeade!" She squealed excitedly, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet. "Okay." I yawn, opening up my wardrobe doors, staring at the hangers full of clothes.

I pulled out the first gray turtleneck jumper I found, black jeans, and my black and white plaid jacket. Getting ready and straightening out my clothes on my body, I fixed my hair, put my contacts in and rushed out of the bathroom. I grabbed my white beanie, scarf, and mittens, jumping into my black boots. 

"Let's head down." I groggily said, I was still sleepy.

Everyone in the Great Hall was buzzing about Hogsmeade, it seemed like the only thing people were talking about. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I sat down at our seats, eating our eggs silently. We didn't want to mention Hogsmeade and make Harry even more depressed than he looked. 

"We'll bring you loads of sweets back from Honeydukes." Hermione said, looking desperately sorry for him. 

"Yeah, loads." Ron added, as he nodded at Harry. 

"You're going to have sweets for the whole year when we get back." I tried to cheer him up but it didn't work. 

Harry still sat across from us, looking depressed. "Don't worry about me, I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time." He closed the conversation in a slightly sad voice.

We all finished our breakfast, everyone rushed out of the Great Hall and into the entrance hall, Harry had accompanied us on the walk. 

Filch stood inside in front of the doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going. 

I hugged Harry tightly, he hugged back, resting his chin on my collarbone. "We'll be back in no time, Harry." I assured him, patting his back a couple of times. He nodded his head, as we all walked into the courtyard, joining the large group of Gryffindors behind McGonagall. 

"It's a bit of a walk to Hogsmeade, stay behind me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs from the front of the line.

The line started to move slowly, down the long stone bridge to the village. Hermione, Ron and I walked in the back of the line, talking to one another as we stepped through the snow. 

"We'll hit up Honeydukes, gathering as much candy we could carry for Harry," I said, putting up a finger to make a mental list in my mind, stepping into a fluffy snow pile. 

"Then we'll go to Dervish and Banges, to check out the store and get cool new wizard stuff." Ron added giddily, jumping into the snow pile as I put up another finger.

"Oh! Oh! Let's go to Zonko's joke shop too, yes?" He cheered, grabbing my sleeve, waiting for my answer. 

"Yes, yes, Hermione, anywhere you want to go?" I asked, putting up another finger, looking at her. 

"The post office! And we'll go to Three Broomsticks for butterbeer after that?" Hermione excitedly asked as Ron's eyes widened. 

"Butterbeer, yes." He quietly said, his eyes twinkling a bit. I put two more fingers up and thought to myself, "Magical Menagerie to get toys for the cats, Mione." I put up another finger, she nodded beside me. I put up another finger, McGonagall shouted from the front of the line.

"We're here! Now you are all free to roam around, do whatever you'd like, just please don't make fools out of yourselves." McGonagall pleaded, looking directly at George and Fred. Their sneaky laughs echoed to the back of the line. 

Everyone divided, running into different stores in the snowy wonderland. "Honeydukes!" I pointed up in the air to the large sign in yellow cursive "Honeydukes".

We all ran through the crunchy snow, to the brick shop with teal cylinder windows on each side that showcased some of the fancy products they sold, and a teal door with a chalkboard in the window that read 'Open!'

I opened up the door, taking a whiff of the fudgy sweet smell that filled the shop, taking in all of the sweet filled shelves that circled around the little shop. "Get whatever. Buy as much as you can." Hermione instructed, handing us little carts to put our candy in, we all split up around the shop.

Walking down one of the shelves, I saw Exploding Bonbons, I grabbed six packs which had five of them in each, stuffing them into the cart. Chocolate covered everything that you could imagine was sold in this shop, I grabbed a few chocolate wands, packs of fudge flies, and chocolate skeletons.

Scanning the shelves, I looked for more sweets that caught my eye. 'Pink Coconut Ice' was on one of the higher shelves, the bright pink wrapper caught my eye. 

Jogging over to the tall shelf, I tried to figure out how I would reach it. I jumped up, waving my hand up to try and reach it, but it didn't work. 

Standing up on my tiptoes, I extended my hand up in the air to reach the bag. It didn't work. Snickers came from behind me, I whipped my head around to see who it was. Ron leaned on one of the shelves, his cart in one hand, the other one covering his mouth.

"Do you think it's funny?" I ask, still trying to jump up in the air to grab the sweet. "Yes, yes. I do. Watching you jump up and down is entertaining." He chuckled once more, as I let out a deep sigh. 

"Can you help?" I finally asked, as he nodded, moving away from the shelf. He stood beside me, and without having to jump or extend his arm, he grabbed a few packs of Pink Coconut Ice and dropped it into my cart. 

"Thank you, Ronnie." I smiled up at him as he sucked his teeth and smiled, approaching one of the other shelves across from me. A blush ran up my cheeks, still smiling weirdly. 

I filled up my cart with chocolate fudge sweets, throwing them onto the pile that Hermione and Ron had on the counter of the cash-register. The pile of candy we had was enormous, it piled up like a sandhill. We paid the kind man who owned the store, Ron held the large brown bag that labeled "Honeydukes". 

Across the street was Dervish and Banges, Ron ran ahead of us and closed the door in front of us. "Isn't he excited." I joked to Hermione who chuckled and opened the door. Ron was thrilled, he examined the whole shop with shelves filled with different equipment I had never seen before.

We walked around the warm shop, bumping into a few students at the stop. "Do you want anything from here?" I asked as Ron shook his head. 

"Just wanted to look." He admitted, approached the door, swinging the door open. Hermione and I shared a glance, shrugged and followed Ron outside. 

"Zonko's Joke Shop" was our next stop, we walked down the block and crossed the street to the shop. As we walked in, we saw Fred and George towering over, grabbing a bunch of tricks to bring back to Hogwarts. Hermione and I walked through the shelves as Ron approached his brothers.

"Stink Pellets. Sniff them." I picked up the packet of green little pellets, sniffing a bit of it. I gagged, coughing into my arm. Hermione let out a belly laugh, grabbing the pellets of my hands and back onto the shelf. "Oh no, I'm good." She said through laughter while I coughed loudly again. 

Ron snuck up behind Hermione and I, grabbing both of our shoulders, the both of us jumped out of his grip and turned to see who it was. He snorted, as the two of us laughed with him. "I'm starving, want to go to Three Broomsticks now?"

We were in agreement, we walked out of Zonko's and back into chilly weather. A breeze of wind hit my face, causing my whole face to turn pink. I turned to Hermione and Ron who were dealing with pink noses too. 

Three Broomsticks was packed of beings of all kinds, it was a homey and cozy atmosphere as we moved in, we were greeted with cheeky smiles. We sat down at one of the circular tables, warming our bodies up. 

The waiter greeted us with a smile and a notepad in his hand, "What would you like?" He asked looking down at us. "Three butterbeers, please." Hermione asked the kind waiter, he wrote it down on his notepad and left with a "Coming right away."

Music was blasting at the bar, wizard songs that the drunks at the pub were chanting together. "Is that a troll?" Ron asked, squinting his eyes to see a big ogre sitting on one of the barstools at the pub, singing the wizard song loudly. 

"Would you look at that?" I grinned, smiling at how the Three Broomsticks was open for everyone, it was like everyone was family. The waiter came back quickly and gave us our butterbeers. 

We all sipped on the drink, I instantly felt warmer. Hermione gawked, holding up the drink, taking another gulp. "That certainly warms you up." She giggled as I laughed at her.

After Three Broomsticks, we went to the post office. Hundreds of owls coordinated in color order depending on how fast you wanted your owl to deliver your letter. 

Hermione was infatuated with the post office and the amount of owls of all different colors in cubicles. Ron followed behind us as we studied the whole post office, he kept yawning and asking, "Can we go now?"

And our last stop was Magical Menagerie, Hermione and I gathered a bunch of chew toys, treats and some cat food for the cats. I grabbed one of the squeaky rats, holding it up in front of Ron's face. 

"We're getting this for Crookshanks, he won't chase after Scabbers anymore." I said as Ron's face grew a small smile. He didn't want to laugh, but he let out a small chuckle.

McGonagall escorted all of us back on the snowy stone bridge, she looked as she just had an amazing time. 

"The next one better be as fun as this one was." Ron said as we all nodded our heads. "And Harry better come with us next time, we need him to join us." Ron added as we all collectively nodded. 

"Can we try the Exploding Bonbons with Harry when we get to the common room?" Hermione hesitated but nodded in agreement.

We arrived at the castle, running up the stony steps and up the marble stairs to the Gryffindor Tower. "What's the password?" Ordered the Fat Lady as I whispered "Fortuna Major". 

The portrait hole swung open as we rushed inside of the common room, giggling. Harry was sitting down on one of the fancy armchairs in front of the fire, he turned to us with a giant grin. "

There you go, we got as much as we can carry." Ron threw the bag upside down, dropping all the sweets onto his lap.

Harry's jaw dropped at the shower of different colored candy that just came out of the brown bag.

"Can we try the Exploding Bonbons!" I exclaimed, jumping in front of Harry, grabbing the package of them. 

"Sure." He giggled, as I ripped open the package, handing one to each of them. We all ate one of them, I chewed onto one of the lavender ones. It exploded right into my mouth, it felt like poprocks in my mouth, but instead pops of lavender exploded into my mouth. 

All of us were grinning with the delicious results of the bonbons, Harry looked happier than he did before.

"Thank you guys for all of the sweets. What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?" Harry asked, grabbing one of the Pepper Imps.

All at once, we all shouted different things we did. Harry nodded at all of us, trying to make out everything he heard as steam puffed out of his ears, 

"The post office, Harry! About two hundred owls, all sitting in shelves, all color coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get there!" Hermione exclaimed, 

"Zonko's Joke Shop! Harry, you would have loved to see the amount of tricks and pranks they have! I sniffed some of the Stink Pellets, it wasn't a pretty sight." I added, 

"Honeydukes has got a new kind of fudge; they were giving out free samples, there's a bit, look- We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at the Three Broomsticks," Ron added,

"Wish we could have brought you some butterbeer, really warms you up-" I added. Harry looked bombarded, we were all screaming and shouting different things in his face. 

"What did you do? Did you get any work done?" Hermione asked anxiously. 

"No, Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office. And then Snape came in..." He began to tell us all about the goblet. Ron's mouth fell open, I looked at Harry with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Lupin drank it? Is he mad?" Ron asked, looking directly in my face.

"He may have his reasons!" I shouted at Ron, his mouth still hung. 

"We'd better go down, you know, the feast'll be starting in five minutes...." Hermione blurted out, checking her watch.

We all hurried into the portrait hole and into the crowd of Gryffindors. "But if he - you know -" Hermione dropped her voice, glancing nervously around, "If he was trying to - poison Lupin - he wouldn't have done it in front of Harry", Hermione logically said, I took a deep breath, Hermione was right. Even if the boys had their suspicious thoughts. 

"Yeah, maybe," Harry said as we reached the entrance hall and crossed into the Great Hall. The Great hall had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle filled pumpkins floating up in the air, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant snakes. 

We sat down at the feast, and delicious food appeared on the golden plates. Hermione, Ron and I helped ourselves to a second helping even though we were bursting with Honeydukes sweets. I looked up to the table, Uncle Remus waved down to me, looking cheerful as always.

It made me feel stable that Uncle Remus looked cheerful and scooping food into his mouth as he chatted with Professor Flitwick.

The feast ended with entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit for formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, performed a successful reenactment of his own botched beheading. 

The four of us were having a pleasant time, we were all beaming with joy, even Malfoy couldn't break our high spirits.

We followed the rest of the Gryffindors along the usual path back to Gryffindor Tower, but when we reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, it was jammed with students. 

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Ron curiously said, looking over the students to see what the hold up was. 

"The portrait seems to be closed." I said, sticking my head in between people's shoulders. 

"Let me through, please, what's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password - excuse me, I'm Head Boy -" Percy squeezed his way through to the end of the corridor. 

The crowd fell to a silence, the four of us exchanged a look, what was going on? Percy suddenly in a sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

Everyone was turning their heads to see what was going on, the four of us in the back stood on our tiptoes to get any information on what was going on. 

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, she had just arrived. 

"We don't know, Gin. Dumbledore's coming." I said, as Dumbledore suddenly appeared as I said his name.

Ron whispered in my ear, "Did you do that?" I shook my head as we all made a pathway for Dumbledore to meet up with Percy. We moved closer to see what all the trouble was.

"Oh, my." Hermione grabbed Harry's arm firmly. 

"Ron, look." I said, holding his arm tightly. 

The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had a vicious slash that led to a bunch of strips of the canvas scattered on the floor. Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin and Snape hurrying towards him. 

"We need to find her, Professor. McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle to find the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice, somewhere in the air. Peeves the Poltergeist was bopping over the crowd, looking delighted, as he always did when there was wreckage or worry. 

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked calmly, Peeves' grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore. 

Instead, he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle. "Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful, poor thing." Peeves said happily in his oily voice. 

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked quietly. 

"Oh yes, Professorhead, he got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see," Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his legs. 

"Nasty temper he's got, Sirius Black." Harry's face got pale as Hermione held onto him tighter. 

"Sirius Black?" Harry whispered to us. I grabbed Ron's arm even tighter as he squeezed my arm.

Professor Lupin's eyes shot right at Harry, Hermione, Ron and I. He ran up to the four of us, the crowd making a big gap for him to pass through. 

Dumbledore nodded to Lupin as he walked us down, watching us with every step. 

"Everyone will meet us in the Great Hall, it's best if you all are safe since Black is after you, Harry." Uncle Remus said, as we reached The Great Hall, pushing us into the empty room. 

Shortly after all of Gryffindor Tower was in the Great Hall, Dumbledore had all of the Professors searching around the castle and gathering the other Houses to come down in the Great Hall.


	6. the quidditch pitch

"How did he get in?" Ron hissed under his breath to us, the tips of his ears turned bright red. 

"Hogwarts has top security though-" Hermione said, darting between the whole Great Hall, trying to pick up any unusual signs. 

"That's what we thought." I mumble, hoping that this man wasn't still in our school. 

"Harry, what's on your mind?" Ron asked, looking very worried at his friend.

Right as Harry opened his mouth, the rest of the Houses made their way into the room with loud chatters filling the once quiet room. 

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle," Dumbledore announced to everyone, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick walked around, closing the doors into the hall. 

"I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately." he added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important.

"Send word with one of the ghosts." He said to Percy and Penelope who both were puffing their chests out to show off their freshly polished Head Boy and Girl pins.

Professor Dumbledore paused right before leaving the Great Hall, turning back to the crowd, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing..." One causal wave of his wand and the long tables flew onto the edges of the hall and meshed into the walls of the hall; another wave, and the floor appeared covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags. 

"Sleep well," Dumbledore finally said, closing the doors behind him.

The hall immediately bursted with excited buzz, the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had happened. 

"Everyone into their sleeping bags! Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!" Percy shouted, breaking the loud ecstatic conversations. 

"C'mon," Ron said to Harry, Hermione and I. We seized four sleeping bags, then dragged them into an isolated corner. 

"Sleepover." I muttered to the three who chuckled silently, zipping down their sleeping bags. 

"The worst sleepover, there's a mass murderer running around the halls." Ron muttered, sighing as he finally got comfortable in his bed.

"Shut up, you're being pessimistic." I hissed, kicking his sleeping bag. "Appreciate that we're all still breathing, Ronald, if Black had found us... we would've been six feet under already." I added as Ron huffed, giving in. 

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione anxiously questioned, looking at the two of us who nodded in agreement. 

"Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be," Ron replied, rolling his eyes. 

"He's probably running around manically trying to get out without being seen." I jokingly said as Ron nodded again. 

"It's very lucky he picked out tonight, you know, the one night we weren't in the tower..." Hermione said, propping herself up by her elbows. 

"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run, didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here." Ron added, as I nodded while Hermione shuddered.

Our conversation stopped as we heard numerous students shouting out, "How did he get in?"

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate, just appear out of thin air, you know." A Ravenclaw called out. 

"Disguised himself, probably," A 5th year Hufflepuff said. 

"He could've flown in," suggested Dean Thomas. Hermione listened, rolling her eyes. 

"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read Hogwarts: A History?" asked Hermione, crossly to Harry, Hermione and I. 

"Probably," Ron sarcastically said as I blurted out, "Obviously," Ron and I both glanced at each other and smiled. "Why?" We both said in sync.

"Because the castle's protected by more than walls, you know, there are all sorts of enchantments on it, to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those dementors.They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll have them covered.." Hermione loudly announced, as everyone all nodded as their minds wandered, How did he get in then? 

"The lights are going out now! I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!" Percy shouted, looking around at all of the students.

The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which was like the sky outside, scattered with stars. The hall was filled with whispers and giggles, it felt as if we were sleeping outdoors with a light wind. 

"Goodnight, sleep well." Harry yawned, flipping over with his back to all of us. "Goodnight, Harry." We all chanted in a whisper.

"The stars are so beautiful." I silently whispered to Hermione and Ron who flipped on their sides towards me. 

"They really are." Hermione said, peeking up at the stars which twinkled a little. "Back home, my canopy is just like this. Enchanted like the night sky, mum and dad had done it. Reminds me of home, you know?" I said, as Ron and Hermione both nodded. 

"You miss home?" Ron asked, with a high voice. 

"No, not really. Just miss Mum and Dad, seeing Uncle Remus reminds me of home. Everyday when I was little, they used to sit outside on the porch with tea in their cups, talking. Smiles on their faces, faint laughter filling up my room. I would go downstairs, and knock on the door, greeted with wide grins and kisses good morning." I silently reminisced about my old morning routine, staring up at the stars.

"I miss Mum and Dad too, every morning at the Burrow, Mum would be cooking a huge breakfast and the smell made its way up to my room, Dad would be sitting at the head of the table, reading the Daily Prophet, my siblings and I would race down the stairs to get to the table first, to get the first piece of bacon." He smiled, looking up at the stars with me. 

"Mum and dad always loved taking me to places, and wanted to go on different adventures with me to explore the world. They always told me, I would do great in life if I set my mind to it. I believe that, I do. Everyday." She smiled, a tear shed from her eye.

"But you guys make it less lonely here. Going down to breakfast each morning, together. Eating with each other, cracking jokes with each other. Feels like home." I smiled at the two, who widely grinned at me. 

Percy Weasley came silently down our row, bending down and shushing us, then ran away. "Fine." Ron hissed at his older brother, "Goodnight." He mouthed to the two of us, turning over and closing his eyes. Hermione and I both nodded off sooner or later, studying the calming stars.

Around three in the morning, my eyes shot open as I heard the Great Hall's oak doors creak open, Dumbledore tiptoed in. Hermione, Harry and Ron seemed to be wide awake now, were looking around to find Dumbledore. We were so eager to find more information on the Black situation, we wanted to see if he was still in the castle.

Percy was a few steps away from us, silencing people who were talking. Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer, as we all closed our eyes pretending to fall asleep. 

"Any sign of him, Professor?" Percy asked in a whisper. "No. All well here?" Dumbledore asked in a whisper as well. 

"Everything under control, sir." Percy said proudly. 

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait gole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow." Dumbledore said, as the four of us opened our eyes to look at each other.

Percy shot his head in our direction, we quickly shut our eyes again. "And the Fat Lady, sir?" Percy asked, turning back to Dumbledore. 

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her." Dumbledore said, as the door of the hall creaked open again, more footsteps walking towards them. 

"Headmaster?" The voice said, instantly matching the voice to its owner, I knew it was Snape. "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What about the Astronomy Tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?" Dumbledore asked in a sort of medium whisper. 

"All searched..." Snape said in his croaked voice. "Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger." Dumble thanked him, seeming as if he wanted to close the conversation. 

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" Snape asked in a very low whisper, as if any of the students couldn't hear his croaked voice.

There was a loud rustling between Harry, he obviously wanted to hear more clearly. 

"You remember that conversation we had, Headmaster, just before - ah - the start of term?" Snape said, trying to not move his mouth. 

"I do, Severus." Dumbledore said, and there was something like a warning in his voice. 

"It seems - almost impossible - that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed -" Snape said, my mind wandered, did he mean my uncle? Dumbledore personally invited my uncle to teach this year, why was Snape talking about my uncle? He has no relation to Black too.

"I do not believe a single person in this castle would have helped Black enter it." Dumbledore said in a strict tone which made it clear that the subject was closed and that Snape didn't reply. "Now, I must go down to the dementors, I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy asked, breaking their two person conversation. 

"Oh, yes, but I'm afraid no dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am headmaster." Dumbledore replied coldly, nodding both Snape and Percy off, and both quickly and quietly left the hall. 

Snape stood there a moment, watching the headmaster with an expression of deep resentment on his face; then he too left. Harry then, lifted up by his elbows, looked sideways to the glance if the three of us were up.

We all glanced at him as he rolled his eyes. "What was all that about?" Ron mouthed to Harry as he shrugged. 

"Snape must suspect something..." He whispered to us. I shook my head, biting my lip. "He said... he expressed his concerns when Dumbledore appointed someone..." I muttered, Harry shook his head, it seemed as he read my mind. 

"No, don't think he meant it like that. He probably fought hard to get the Dark Arts position but when he found out that Dumbledore personally appointed someone; he wanted to do anything in his power to get him out." Harry reassured me, as I nodded at him. 

"Whatever, I think we should call it a night." Hermione said with a yawn as we all agreed.

The next day, we all woke up as the teachers were walking in and out of the hall, they had a busy morning. The Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and replaced with the portrait of loony Sir Cadogan and his fat gray pony. Dumbledore allowed the Gryffindors to all meet the new guardian, Sir Cadogan gave an awfully long speech, calling us scurvy loathers. 

"Not this idiot." Ron sighed, scoffing at the knight who hopped up and down, still trying to get his sword out of the ground. "He's a complete lunatic. Can't we get anyone else?" Seamus angrily said from watching the knight spazz out in the portrait.

None of the other pictures wanted the job, frightened of what happened to the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one brave enough to volunteer. Percy told us the ridiculous password, "Mangy Cur", and allowed us in the common room to get ready for our first class. 

"He's insane!" Hermione whined, throwing her cardigan over her shoulders, starting to button it up.

"Mental, that one." I rolled my eyes, fixing my mary jane buckle. "Where are the cats?" Hermione asked, stopping in her tracks, looking around the room. "I haven't seen them, don't worry though, can't be too far." I reassured her, as she nodded nervously, We threw on our robes and made our way out the dormitory and down the stairs.

Ron and Harry were there as usual at the landing of the stairs, waiting for us. Harry looked around nervously, then up at us. 

"All right," He said quickly, trotting off and pulling us behind him. We settled in the Great Hall, as everyone seemed to be talking about one thing, Sirius Black. We sat down at the Gryffindor table where everyone seemed to be speaking about how Sirius Black almost killed the Fat Lady. 

"Tune it out, I know it's going to be hard since this will be the only thing that everyone talks about for the next few days." Hermione said to Harry, who nodded, knowingly Hermione was right.

In our Herbology class, Hannah Abbott, from Hufflepuff, spent much of our lesson telling anyone who'd listen that Black could turn into a flowering shrub. "Ignore her," I whispered to Harry who took a few steps back from his shrub planting. 

"She's talking nonsense. Both of you come back and finish your stupid planting." I ordered Ron and Harry who huffed and came back to the barrel beside Hermione and I, throwing their gardening gloves back on. 

"Sorry, Tiny Temper." Ron whispered as Harry snorted, I lifted my head up and glared at both of them. I looked up to see Professor Sprout who had her back towards us, helping Neville, Seamus, Dean and Lavender.

I grabbed some dirt and threw it at Ron and Harry's shirts. "Sorry." Harry said, wiping the dirt off his shirt. Ron, however, grabbed some dirt and threw it on my shoulder. Professor Sprout turned around, checking on us to see our progress. 

"Oh, how lovely, Hermione." She patted her shoulder as Hermione grinned widely. 

"I see Rita's, lovely, you got dirty as well as Ron and Harry. Well that's the cons of gardening. But it's all worth it - all right - very well." She said to us, striding off to the next group of students. The four of us laughed at the sight of one another. We were all covered in dirt.

"Great job, everyone! Now you all may wash off and get ready for your next lesson. Class dismissed!" She rubbed her hands together, opening up the greenhouse door and allowed us to get ready for our next class. The four of us walked to a water barrel that stood off to the side, taking off all of the dirt. We grabbed our bags and made our long journey to Divination. 

"She's loony, Rita. Don't believe a word she says. She probably picks random students saying they have the Sight!" Hermione shouted, throwing her hands up. 

"Oi! Stop it, Hermione. Professor Trelawney may be loony but if Rita truly has the Sight then you shouldn't discourage her! Right, Harry?" Ron exclaimed, nudging Harry in the armpit. 

"Yeah, yeah, of course." He said, shaking his head, he was lost in his thoughts.

We arrived in the classroom, right as Professor Trelawney stepped out of the shadows. Hermione scoffed at her entrance, sinking back in her chair. 

"Welcome, my dears, if you could turn to-" She said right as Ms. McGonagall knocked on the door. 

"Sybil, dear, sorry to interrupt but may I speak to Potter? I have a few things I'd like to discuss..." She announced, smiling at Harry. 

"Of course..." Professor Trelawney said in a misty voice, Harry got up from his seats, waved at us and followed Professor McGonagall out. 

"She's going to talk to him about Black." Hermione whispered, disregarding Trelawney's lesson. 

"I hope it doesn't take too long, we have Quidditch practice after Divination..." I said, looking out the door.

"Isn't the match this Saturday?" Ron excitedly said, shifting his chair next to me. 

"Yeah, I'm so excited." I grinned, clapping my hands together. 

"We'll be watching you and Harry from the best seats," Hermione said, smiling. 

"We're going to get there before everyone else, I'll tell you that, we're getting the best seats." He glared over to Hermione, who nodded in agreement. 

Professor Trelawney came up behind me, gripping my shoulders and pointed at the palm reading page in front of my book. "Oh, very sorry." I mumbled, as she looked at me and walked away. Hermione and Ron laughed at me.

The weather worsened as the match drew nearer. Undaunted, the Gryffindor team was training harder than ever under the eye of Madam Hooch. 

At our final training session before Saturday's match, Oliver Wood called us all to a meeting. "We're not playing Slytherin!" He shouted angrily at us. "Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead." 

Harry and I glanced at each other, "Why?" We all chorused. "Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm's still injured." said Wood, grinding his teeth furiously. Harry scooted near me, mumbling 

"Of course, it's Malfoy's fault. They aren't ready, that's why they made excuses." I nodded, "My father will hear about this!" I muttered, mocking Draco's usual lazy drawl. Harry bursted into laughter, leaning onto my shoulder.

"But it's obvious why they're doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances..." Wood said, a distant rumble of thunder grumbled throughout the room. 

"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm! He's faking it!" Harry furiously shouted. 

"I know that, but we can't prove it, we've been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin, and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory." Wood bitterly said. Angelina and Katie, who were sitting on my other side, giggled next to me. 

"Who's that?" I smirked, turning to them.

"He's incredibly handsome, a sixth year Hufflepuff. You'll see when we're on the field." Angelina whispered in my ear with Katie giggling. 

"What?" said Wood, frowning at our lighthearted behavior. 

"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?" Angelina asked. "Strong and silent," Katie added as the three of us giggled. 

"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words together," Fred impatiently said, glaring at the three of us, "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver, Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Harry caught the Snitch in about five minutes, remember?"

"We were playing in completely different conditions!" Oliver shouted, his eyes bulging slightly. 

"Diggory's put a very strong side together! He's an excellent Seeker! I was afraid you'd take it like this! We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! Slytherin is trying to wrong-foot us! We must win!" Fred looked a bit taken back, he held his chest dramatically like the air was knocked out of him. 

"Oliver calm down! We're taking Hufflepuff very seriously. Seriously." Fred said, slightly alarmed.

"All right, fine. I hope you all are taking this very seriously." He gestured over to the group that practice was done as he grabbed his bag and approached the door. I grabbed my bag out of the locker, Harry waved me off as Oliver stood by the door for Harry to talk him up about catching the Snitch.

"Rita!" Fred called out from behind me, I whipped my head around to see the two tall, lanky gingers standing in front of me. 

"Care to accompany us on our walk to the beloved common room?" George asked, the pair held their hands out for me like they were princes waiting to walk their princesses down the stairs. 

"I'd love to." I giggled, shutting my locker and heaved my bag over my shoulder. I took their hands, walking out of the locker room.

"How've you been?" Fred asked, the rain started to pour harder down on us. 

"I've been all right, what about you two?" I asked, darting between the two. 

"Great." They both said in sync, stopping in the middle of the courtyard with a smile. 

"Ever danced in the rain?" Fred questioned, sharing a cheeky smile with his brother. 

"Never...why?" I looked at the two with a weird look. 

"There's a first for everything!" George grabbed my hand, twirling me in a circle. I giggled as the two danced like nobody was watching in the courtyard, bopping their heads up and down. 

"Join us!" They both said, taking my bag and throwing it over the corridor window. 

"All right, all right." I giggled, dancing alongside the two who cheered.

I grabbed both of their hands, spinning both of them in circles. I had to stand on my tiptoes for this since I am way smaller than them. We were jumping up and down in the rain, bopping our heads side to side as students passed by in the corridors. 

"Nice dance moves, Weasleys'!" Lee Jordan called out from the corridor, with Angelina on his side.

"Thank you, Lee!" They both chanted as Lee Jordan walked into the castle. Fred, George and I danced in a circle, laughing loudly as the rain poured down harder on us. We didn't care though, we kept on dancing.

Lightning struck in the sky, lighting up the whole night sky, this was our cue to go. 

"Wouldn't want to get struck by lightning and hear Ollie's yapping, yes?" Fred said, pushing the two of us to jump in the window of the corridor. 

I leaped through, ringing out my wet robes in the middle of the corridor. "No need for that." George said, pulling out his wand.

George gave his wand a complicated wave at my robes, which emitted hot air onto my robes. My robes began to steam, feeling them warm up dryly on my skin. 

"Wicked, Georgie! Mine next, all right?" Fred asked as George nodded with a cheeky grin. 

"Thank you, you didn't have to, Georgie." I smiled, the last part of my robe was dry. 

"I wanted to! Freddie, spread your arms out wide!" Fred did as he was told, spreading his arms out. He waved his hair around like he was getting his hair done. As he finished drying both his and Fred's robes off, we set off to the common room.

"Can we skip through the corridors?" I begged the twins who nodded their heads rapidly. The three of us skipped around the corridors and up the steps to the Gryffindor common room. As we stepped into the common room, nobody was there except for Oliver. 

"Oi! That's where you three have been! I told you all, we mustn't relax!" He yelled at us, getting out of the big armchair and standing in front of us. 

"Calm down! We had to deal with Sir Cadogan and his loony-ness." George smirked, glancing at us. 

"He kept challenging us to a duel, yet he couldn't get his bloody sword out of the grass!" Fred added, trying to look as serious as possible.

"He kept calling us mangy curs, I didn't know that was a bad thing since it's the password..." I tried to sound as reasonable as possible. 

Oliver nodded at the three of us, "Very well. Get ready for the day after tomorrow. We need to be on our best guard." He said, walking back to his seat. We all stifled a laugh as Oliver's head whipped back towards us. The twins whistled, pushing me up the stairs. 

"Goodnight." They both said, waving. They walked into their dormitory, as a few screams came from their room.

I slammed the girl's dormitory open, Hermione's head rose up from the book she had her nose in. "Hi, Rita." She said with a smile, looking back down at the book. 

"Hello." I chuckled, hanging my robe up on the hanger I had on my wall. I changed into my matching pyjama set, and flopped on my bed. Soupy jumped on my bed, immediately laying across my lap. 

"You didn't come to the common room after Harry came, did something happen?" She said, glancing up at me.

"Fred and George." I snorted as she laughed, "What'd they want?" I yawned, stretching my arms out in front of me, "They wanted to hang out for a bit, we danced in the rain. It was bloody fun." She nodded, closing her book and slipping into her bed. 

"Next time we'll dance in the rain, yes?" I said, petting Soupy in my lap. 

"Sure, but I'm only asking because Ron thought something happened." She chuckled.

"Oh, was he worried I didn't show up?" I asked, as she nodded, glancing over to the window. 

"Yeah...he was, weirdly enough. He kept looking back at the portrait hole to see when you were getting back. Thought you'd hurt yourself. " She said. 

"Oh, all right." I mumbled, slipping into my bed. "Goodnight, Mione." I yelled out, lowering the fire lit lantern in my room, "Goodnight, Ri."

The day before the match had arrived, the winds reached howling point and the rain was falling harder than it was yesterday. The corridors were so dark and classrooms had extra torches and lanterns lit. 

Harry, Ron, Hermione and I walked together closely, to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Malfoy was standing against one of the corridors, looking more smug than ever. "Ah, if only my arm was feeling a bit better!" he sighed as the gale outside pounded the windows.

Rolling my eyes at him, I crossed my arms, he was lucky we had a game now. I wouldn't want to lay a good punch and bruise my hand. 

"Don't listen, keep your mind clear." Ron whispered beside me, patting my shoulders. 

"He's lucky we have a game tomorrow, or I'd injure him even more." I clenched my fists. Ron snorted, pushing me away from Malfoy's presence. He knew how mad I was getting, just by the sound of my voice. Oliver Wood was behind us, mumbling to Harry. 

"Oliver you all right?" I ask, whipping my head to see him muttering to Harry. "Yeah, just giving tips to Harry. You lot go ahead."

He persuaded us, gesturing his hand for us to leave. Hermione, Ron and I took the clue and walked down the corridor to our favorite class. We opened the door, "Good morning Professor Lupin!" I grinned, not noticing the body in Remus's seat. 

He looked up, pushing his greasy black hair behind his ears. "Not him." He crookedly smiled. "Sit down, all of you, I don't want to have to say it twice." He demanded, looking down at the pile of homework on Professor Lupin's desk. I sat down next to Hermione, the open seat where Harry was supposed to sit, then Ron.

"Where is he?" Hermione mumbled, looking at me with raised eyebrows. "I don't want to deal with him here!" She mumbled again, I shrugged. 

"Seems as if Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have -" The door creaked, hurried footsteps came in. 

"Sorry I'm late, Professor Lupin, I-" Harry panted, looking up at the slimeball. His eyes bulged, he was confused on what was going on.

"The lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor. Sit down." Snape snapped, his menacing black eyes sparkling. Harry didn't move. Hermione twitched in her seat beside me. 

"Where's Professor Lupin?" He asked, everyone's eyes shot up to Harry. 

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today," Snape's lips curled into a twisted smile, "I believe I told you to sit down?" Harry still didn't move. 

"What's wrong with Harry?" Hermione mumbled to me, with a worried expression on her face. 

"What's wrong with him?" Harry asked, ignoring Hermione's question. Snape's eyes were glittering, it's like he wanted Remus to be ill. 

"Nothing life-threatening, five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty. Harry walked slowly to the three of us, sitting down in his chair.

His face was clenched up, he didn't like that Snape was teaching his favorite class. I bit my tongue, I couldn't potentially raise my voice and lose us five points. 

"As I was saying before Potter interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of topics you have covered in class so far -" 

Hermione's hand jumped up, she was on the edge of her seat, "Please, sir, we've done boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows, and we're just about to start -" Hermione quickly said. 

"Be quiet, I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization." Snape hissed, looking around at all of our angered faces. 

"I was merely commenting on your lack of shampoo." Ron muttered under his breath, all four of us tried our hardest to not laugh. 

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had." Dean Thomas retorted boldly, as the whole class murmured to agreement. Snape looked more menacing than ever.

"You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you - I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows. Today we shall discuss -" He flicked through the textbook, to the very back chapter, which he knew we haven't covered. "- werewolves." Snape grinned widely, looking around at all of us. 

"But, sir, we're not supposed to werewolves yet, we're due to start hinkypunks -" She blurted out, she was unable to restrain herself. 

"Miss Granger, I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394." He argued, glancing around to the students, "All of you! Now!" he shouted in a more strict tone.

I sucked my teeth, turning to page 394, looking at the sketches of werewolves. Pointing down at a funny looking drawn one, I whispered, "Look. It's you, Harry" He exhaled, kicking my foot slightly. He pointed to another one who was snarling, "Look. It's you, Rita." He muttered, as I exhaled and flicked his finger under the table. 

Snape whipped his head to the class, menacingly staring at all of us. 

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" He cleared his throat looking around, ignoring Hermione's raised hand. She waved her hand frantically in the air. 

"Anyone?" Snape said, his twisted smile back on his face. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you basic distinction between -"

"We told you," Parvati said suddenly, "we haven't got as far as werewolves yet, we're still on -" Snape's face changed suddenly, "Silence!' he snarled. "Well, well, well, I never thought I'd meet a third year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are..." Hermione's hand was still waving her hand in the air. 

"Please, sir, the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf-" Snape's hairy eyebrows furrowed at Hermione. 

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all." Snape coolly said.

Hermione went very red, slowly dropped her hand, and stared at floor with her eyes full of tears. 

"Hermione, tell me the answer, I'll pass it on." I whispered to her, throwing my arm over her and resting my head on hers. She whispered the answer as I raised my hand, he rolled his eyes. 

"Don't ever bother, Miss Vixen, you probably know all about werewolves anyway. Five more points from Gryffindor because you asked Miss Granger for the answer." The greasy black hair man stood in front of me with a crooked smile. 

"But, Sir!" I exclaimed as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Shall I take five more points off for you raising your voice? Wouldn't want detention before the game, hm?" He coolly retorted as I scoffed, returning to coo Hermione who looked like on the verge of tears. 

"He's a bully. You know everything, yes, but you are the cleverest witch of our age. Do not listen to him, Hermione." I whispered, rubbing her arm up and down.

Everyone was glaring at Snape, they were furious. Everyone has called Hermione a know-it-all at least once, but Snape out of all people? 

"You asked us a question and they both know the answer! Why ask if you don't want to be told?" Ron blurted out, Hermione and I lifted our heads up. Ron was standing out of his seat, his hands pressed on his desk and his face was brick red. He had gone too far, we all knew it. Snape advanced on Ron slowly, and everyone held their breath. 

"Detention, Weasley," Snape said silkily, his face very close to Ron. "And if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed."

No one made a sound throughout the rest of the lesson. While writing notes from the textbook, I looked over my shoulder to see Ron. He had gotten in trouble for me, he didn't have to raise his voice for Hermione and I... Snape was prowling up and down the rows of desks, snarling at Harry, Ron, Hermione and I's tables, examining the work they had been doing with Professor Lupin. 

"Very poorly explained...That is incorrect. The kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia... Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn't have given it three..."

When the bell rang at last, Snape held us back. "You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand. Weasley, stay behind, we need to arrange your detention."

Ron's face was still brick red, he was clenching his jaw so hard, he was furious. "Thank you for sticking up for us, Ron. I appreciate that very much..." I said, as Hermione dragged me out of the dodgy classroom. 

Harry, Hermione and I walked out of the class, waiting until we were out of earshot to burst into furious tirades about Snape.

"Why did he say I know so much about werewolves? Is he insinuating something?" I asked, finally getting the anger off my chest. 

"That was weird. But, Snape's never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the Dark arts teachers, even if he did want the job, why's he got it in for Lupin? D'you think this is all because of the boggart? Or do you have any other idea on why he got it out for Lupin?" He asked, darting between both Hermione and I. 

"I don't know." Hermione and I both said in sync. "But I really hope Professor Lupin gets better soon..." Hermione said pensively.

"I hope he is all right. He usually gets sick once a month." I said, looking around for Ron.

Ron's tall lanky self ran up to us, his ginger locks bouncing up and down as he ran. "D'you know what that arsehole-" Ron said in a towering rage as Hermione yelled "Ron!"- 

"is making me do? I've got to scrub out the bedpans in the hospital wing! Without magic!" He was breathing deeply, his fists were clenched. 

"Why wouldn't Black have hidden in Snape's office, eh? He could have finished him off for us!" Ron yelled in a pant, that made all of us nod in agreement. 

"He's a scumbag! The nerve of talking badly about my god father in front of me!" I scoffed, crossing my arms as we walked down the corridor to the common room. 

"Rita! Stop cursing about a teacher!" Hermione scolded me, raising her hand up. 

"He's a twat." Harry blurted out as Hermione smacked Harry's head with her Potions textbook. 

"Hermione, we know you were thinking about it too." I said, laughing alongside Harry and Ron. 

"You don't have to mention it!" She also broke out into laughter.

The noise of the thunderstorm rumbled throughout my room, causing me to jump out of my sleep. My eyes opened slowly but surely, I looked up at the alarm clock sitting on my night table. 

"4:30 am." it read, I yawned loudly, stretching my legs out widely. Soupy's spot on the bed was open, I lifted my elbows up and looked up at the cold imprint in my bed. She wasn't there. 

Should I get up? No...there's nothing important today, sleep till noon...who cares? Wait, Yes there is. Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff! I shot my eyes open, struggling to take off my blankets.

I rolled out of bed, "That hurt", crawling to my wardrobe. I hoisted myself up, opening up the doors and fetching the first uniform I saw and tiptoed to the bathroom. 

Ripping off my pyjamas, I quickly put on my uniform and jumped onto the bathroom sink counter. I placed my contacts rapidly into my eyes, blinking into the pair. 

Once I regained my full vision, I slipped my chocolate cherry curls into a middle part ponytail. My curly bangs jumped out from the ponytail, as usual. I stumbled out of the bathroom, jumping into my maryjanes and ran down the stairs to the common room.

There was Harry, yawning with his mouth wide open. He was walking down the stairs, stretching his hands up in the air. "Harry!" I yelled, as his head whipped back and smiled. 

"Good Morning, Rita. Couldn't sleep as well?" He walked back to me and yawned directly in front of my face. 

"You're right, I couldn't, I almost slept till noon because I forgot we had a game." I yawned, stretching my arms across my chest. The noise of the storm grew gradually louder in the common room, the rain and wind pounded the window, shattering the whole room with a rattle. The two of us sat down on the fancy lounge chairs in front of the fire, warming ourselves up from the coldness that bared outside. 

"How're you feeling?" I questioned as Harry sat beside me with his leg twitching onto my leg. "I'm feeling quite apprehensive. Wood had pointed out to me, Cedric Diggory, a fifth year and way bigger than I am-"

"Is he thick? Chubby of some sort? That's what you mean by bigger?" I asked, which caused Harry to stare at me as a smile planted on his face. 

"No, you idiot, like muscle and height wise; But with the rain raging on about like this, I couldn't possibly stay put on my broom." He sighed, slapping his hands against his face, his voice was muffled by his hands. 

"Harry, I know you feel like everything is decided by the way you catch the Snitch tonight, yes, that's true, but you need to realize that we're one banging team. We're going to do exceptionally well on that Quidditch pitch, all of us, set your mind on the Snitch and when you see it, catch it. You'll be all right." I said, leaning on the arm of the couch and curling up in a ball. 

"I know it's easier said than done but the way that everyone is talking up about differently, I'd thought I'd put it in easier words than what everyone else is saying."

He nodded his head, he knew what I meant but it didn't help as much as calming him down a bit. I grabbed one of the blankets that hung from the top of the couch, pulling it down on my body. 

"Yeah, I do understand. It's just my stomach cartwheeling as we speak. I keep rethinking over and over again - wait, hold on, -" He got up from his seat, pulling both Soupy and Crookshanks out of the boy's door to their dormitories. 

"Are they trying to get into your room?" I shouted from the couch, he slid down the banister of the stairs, plopped down on the couch and nodded at me. 

"They really have it out for Scabbers. Surprises me how he got your cat to come with him." Harry said, peeking through the little spot to see if Crookshanks and Soupy tried again. 

"Weird." I mumbled, shutting my eyes and beginning to snooze off in a second long nap.

"Wake up! Breakfast!" Harry shouted in my ear, I jumped up from my comfortable position and shook the blankets off me. 

"Did I get my hair messed up?" I asked as Harry shook his head. 

"Can you see perfectly?" He asked, he wondered if my contacts fell out in my sleep. I blinked a few times, examining the whole room, I was lucky, they haven't popped out. "I see perfectly." 

The two of us headed for breakfast, leaving the portrait hole together. "Stand and fight, you mangy curs!" yelled Sir Cadogan. "Oh, shut up." Harry yawned.

The two of us groggily slouched our way down long corridors to the Great Hall. We caught a glimpse of the nasty storm, thunder rattled the whole corridor. We had sat down at the Gryffindor table, Harry made himself some porridge as my game nerves kicked in. 

"Eat. You need to." Harry said through slurps of his hot cereal as I shook my head. Harry placed toast on my plate, the rest of the team had made their way down the hall, sitting around us. 

"It's going to be a tough one," Wood blurted out, he wasn't eating at all.

I helped myself to the toast Harry gave me. "Stop worrying, Oliver, we don't mind a bit of rain." Angelina chewed her food, trying to sound as soothing as possible. 

"Oliver, you should eat." I said, as Harry glared up at me with a I-told-you-that-no-longer-than-five-minutes-ago face. 

"I'll try." Oliver said to me, grabbing one of the toast slices on my plate. "Don't mind if you do," I muttered, sighing.

After a long silent breakfast, we reached the lawn of the Quidditch pitch. It was considerably more than a bit of rain, such was the popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to watch the match as usual. 

Our heads bowed against the ferocious winds, umbrellas being whipped out of our hands just as we headed to the locker room. We all headed to our lockers, changing into our scarlet robes and waited for Wood's usual pre-game pep talk.

It didn't come, he tried to speak but the words didn't come out of his mouth. George told me, he thought Oliver was having a fit. Oliver tried to speak several times, making odd gulping noises, then shaking his head hopelessly and beckoned for us to follow them.

Walking out of the locker room, we all had our brooms in our hands, the cheers from the scarlet blur rose as we walked through the strong rain. I swear I heard Ron and Hermione's shouts but I could be wrong. 

The wind was so strong that we staggered sideways as we stood on our side of the field, waiting for the Hufflepuff team to come. The rolls of thunder became louder and louder, we couldn't even hear the cheers anymore from the fresh thunder.

The Hufflepuffs were approaching from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow. 

"Look!" Katie yelled, pointing in the direction of Cedric Diggory walking with a charming smile. 

"That's him." Angelina said, giggling and fixing her wet hair a bit. He was indeed charming, even through the rough gray rain, his shining smile glowed.

The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; Diggory smiled at Wood but Wood now looked as though he had lockjaw, he merely nodded. 

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch screamed out to all of us. I pulled my right foot out from the mud water, with a squelch sound coming from the majority of us, I swung it over my Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips, giving it a blast that sounded shrill and distant, I kicked off and flew up in the air.

Angelina was advancing behind me, she had the Quaffle in her hand and a large Hufflepuff Chaser riding behind her. 

"Here! Make the first shot, Rita!" She screamed, throwing me the Quaffle. I held the Quaffle in my hand, zooming away from the blurry shapes of yellow and straight in front of the goal. The Keeper smiled grimly at me, I smiled back with a terrified look in my eyes, I threw the Quaffle above his head. 

"10 points awarded to Gryffindor from the lovely, Tiny Temper- Sorry, Professor, please, I'm sorry!- Rita Vixen!" Lee Jordan faintly cheered in the microphone.

Gliding back on the heavy wind, Katie Bell had the Quaffle in her hand, she looked as she needed help. Speeding fast behind Katie, I tried to throw off the Bludger that was right behind her, Fred came to my rescue and smacked the Bludger away from us. 

"20 to 0!....." Lee Jordan faintly cheered louder, but the speaker seemed to tune out. Angelina threw the Quaffle into the Hufflepuff goal, throwing a punch in the air. 

"30 to 0" I heard from Lee Jordan who was still screaming loudly in the quiet speaker. Katie and I threw the same Quaffle between us, so the Chasers would get confused. 

We zoomed all across the field, throwing each other the ball through the heavy thick rain. It was a miracle we could point out each other's shapes, I threw Katie it and she scored. "40 to 0!"

I snatched the Quaffle from the team, as two Bludgers started to chase after me. I flew in circles, trying to make Fred or George see the two balls riding behind me, almost advancing on me. As soon as I made it to the Goal, Fred and George came up from behind and smacked the Bludgers in the opposite direction.

I shot the Quaffle into the goal, "50 points up!" A white flash of lightning grazed upon us, Madam Hooch shrilly blew into her whistle. I looked down to see the problem, there was Wood standing in the mud. 

"I called for a time-out!" roared Wood, as we all shot down and splashed into the mud. "Come on, under here-" He directed us to the edge of the field under a large umbrella.

Harry stood beside me, we were all soaked to our skins and freezing cold. Harry took off his glasses and wiped them hurriedly on his robes. 

"What's the score?" Harry asked, rubbing the water on his glasses from his soaking wet robes. 

"We're fifty points up, but unless we get the Snitch soon, we'll be playing all night." Harry's face froze, he raised his hand with the water smudged glasses, "I've got no chance with these on," he said exasperatedly, waving his glasses around. 

At that very moment Hermione broke the space between us, her cloak over her head with an inexplicable beam. 

"Hermione!" I was shocked that she came down from her seat. 

"I've had an idea, Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!" He handed them to her, and she pulled out her wand tapping Harry's glasses. 

"Impervius!" She shouted as the raindrops on Harry's glasses evaporated and looked brand new. The whole team watched in awe.

"There!" She said, handing them back to Harry, "They'll repel water!" Wood stood in awe, he looked as he could kiss Hermione. 

"Ron and I are cheering you both on, Good luck." She smiled, disappearing back into the crowd. 

"Brilliant! Okay, team, let's go for it!" He hoarsely yelled as we all hurried back onto the Quidditch field. I hoisted myself back on my broom, kicking off to race through the turbulent air.

Katie, Angelina and I were juggling a Quaffle in the air, throwing it to one another to confuse the Chasers and the Beaters. Fred and George were an inch behind, knocking the Bludgers into the Hufflepuff's Chasers. The heavy rain thickened, the air felt colder than before, the whole area silenced. 

"What's going on?" I screamed across the field to anyone who would listen, we all were gliding in the air, we didn't move. 

"It's Harry." A Hufflepuff Beater shouted at me, pointing up in the air. I looked up in the air, Harry was floating, a dementor was above him. 

"Oh no." I mumbled, clapping my hands over my mouth.

My heart had dropped out of my chest and into my stomach. Cedric got hold of the Snitch, not even paying attention to what was going around him. He looked up and saw Harry. Harry soon fell down, his broom flew into the air and blew out of the pitch, disappearing out of sight. 

Dumbledore with a wave of his wand, guided Harry's fainted body down safely to the ground. The whole team flew down into the ground, splashing into the mud. Dumbledore magicked Harry on a stretcher, then shot silvery mist up at the dementors that caused a huge flash explosion in the pitch. 

"Follow me." Dumbledore announced, before we could leave Hermione and Ron ran down into the field and caught up to me.

"Harry!" I cried to them, as they gasped and joined the group.

"Is he all right, Professor?" Hermione shouted up at Dumbledore. He looked up at us, continuing to guide the team and Hermione and Ron up to the hospital wing. I was dripping wet in both rain and mud, my robes were attached to my skin and I felt sick to my stomach.

Hermione, Ron and I were at the back of the group, Hermione was crying loudly, Ron and I were both shaked up. We approached the Hospital wing, Dumbledore escorted us in and talked to Madam Pomfrey. There, Harry laid on a hospital bed, we all were surrounding him.

Dumbledore had spoken to Hermione, handing her a huge black bag. "What's that?" I whispered, pointing down to the huge noisy bag. 

"Harry's broken broom." She whispered as Ron opened the bag and took a peek. "It's really bad, look." He opened the bag wider, the broom was shredded into pieces. If you told me it was a broom before, I wouldn't have guessed it . 

"Harry's going to be crushed." I whimpered, staring down once again at the broken broom. 

"Lucky the ground was so soft." George said, looking down at Harry's defenseless body. 

"Thought he was dead for sure." Fred added. "But he didn't even break his glasses." Katie said. Harry was tossing and turning, he could hear our whispers. 

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life." Angelina said. Harry's eyes snapped open, he looked around nervously, darting between his surroundings and the people around him.

"Harry! How're you feeling?" Fred looked extremely pale, beaming down at Harry. We all leaned in closer to Harry, it looked as we were looking at the animals in cages at the zoo. 

"What happened?" he said, sitting up so suddenly that we all loudly gasped. 

"You fell off, must've been - what - fifty feet?" Fred said looking around for any clarification. 

"We thought you'd died." Angelina said, shakily. Hermione made a small squeaky noise, she had cried the whole walk to the hospital wing. 

"But the match, what happened? Are we doing a replay?" Harry asked, frantically. We all stayed quiet, we lost. Cedric won fair and square. "We didn't - lose?"

"Diggory got the Snitch, just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back, and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square... even Wood admits it." George glimly said, as the whole team nodded. 

"Where is Wood?" Harry asked, he finally realized he wasn't there. "Still in the showers, we think he's trying to drown himself," Fred said pointing to George, himself and I. Harry put his face to his knees, his hands gripping his hair. He was ashamed, but there was nothing to be ashamed of. Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly.

"C'mon, Harry, you've never missed Snitch before." George stepped up, next to Fred. "There had to be one time you didn't get it," George said, patting Harry's knee. 

"It's not over yet," Fred said, looking around to the rest of the team. 

"We lost by a hundred points, right? So, if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin..." 

"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least two hundred points," George said. 

"But if they beat Ravenclaw..." Fred added. 

"No way, Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff..." George retorted. "It all depends on the points - a margin of a hundred either way -" 

Madam Pomfrey came over to us, "Leave him in peace!" She ordered them to leave. 

"We'll come see you later, don't beat yourself up, Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've had." Fred said, messing both Ron and I's soaking hair up. The rest of the team trooped out, following the ginger twins with trailing mud behind them.

Ron, Hermione and I moved nearer to Harry's bed. "Dumbledore was really angry, I've never seen him like that before. He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away... He was furious they'd come onto the ground. We heard him -" Hermione said in a quaking voice. 

"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher, and walked up to the school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were dead..." Ron blurted out, Harry looked pale and shakily. He didn't listen to a word Ron had said, we looked at him anxiously. 

"Did someone get my Nimbus?" Ron and Hermione and I quickly took a double take. Hermione had the broken, shredded Nimbus in a black bag that stood at her feet. Dumbledore had given it to her before. 

"Um." I quietly said, shifting up and down on the heels of my feet. 

"What?" Harry asked, looking at the three of us with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Well... when you fell off, it got blown away." Hermione hesitantly said, looking at us after every word she said. "And?"

"And it hit - it hit - it hit the Whomping Willow," Hermione finished, Harry's face brushed off with no expression.

"And?" He said, sounding like he dreaded the answer. "Well, you know the Whomping Willow, it - it doesn't like being hit." Ron added, with a sympathetic look on his face. 

"And, you know what the Whomping Willow does when it gets hit...it- it fights back." I hesitated, Harry's face still was expressionless. 

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around, Dumbledore gave me it to give to you." She said in a very tiny voice. She reached down for the bag, turned it upside down slowly and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed.

Harry's jaw clenched, he turned away from the broom. "I'm terribly sorry, Harry, I know how nervous you were for our game... just for it to end like this. Please don't mess yourself up about it. It wasn't your fault, whatsoever, it was the dementors." I quietly encouraged Harry to feel better. 

He sighed, turning his head to the other way we were standing. "Yeah, can you guys go? I need some time to think... Thank you for checking up on me and breaking the news." He quietly said to us, his head still turned to the side. He didn't look at us, his eyes were filled with tears. 

"All right, we'll come back tomorrow..." Ron said, gathering both Hermione and I, we walked out of the wing. 

"He looked so sad." Hermione noticed, sniffling a bit. She felt terrible that she had to be the one to give Harry's broken broom back. "Poor Harry." I muttered as we all walked back to the common room to finally get out of these soggy wet clothes.


	7. hogsmeade

Sunday morning rolled around, the storm was still raging on, and the gale pounded the windows a bit louder now. The booms of deafening thunder had echoed through the castle.

Ron, Hermione and I hung out with Harry in the hospital wing, we knew how terrible he had been feeling and we wanted to cheer up our friend. Ron and I took the two stools beside Harry's bed while Hermione moved her stool all the way to Harry's feet to finish up her homework. 

"Harry, I found something that was dug deep in my bag. Do you want to see?" I asked, twisting my purple moleskin bag on my lap, and opening it up. 

"Sure, why not?" He sighed loudly, hoisting himself up with his elbows. 

"A - hold on - I'm getting it - a... Chocolate Frog!" I had searched my bag, pushing random objects I had in my bag to the side. Finally, I pulled out the sweet, placing it on Harry's lap. 

"It's not much. But-" He shook his head, tearing the package up with a grin. 

"Who'd you get?" Ron asked, chewing on a Drooble he had saved from our Hogsmeade trip.

Harry pulled out the card, he let out a chuckle. "Dumbledore." He placed the card on the nightstand beside him, biting into the frog's head. Hermione was wrapped up in her homework, leaning on Harry's legs as writing support. 

"The team visited me today, Wood told me he didn't blame me in the slightest." He added, shoving the last piece of chocolate into his mouth. 

"That's good, right? No need to get worked up about nothing." Ron patted Harry's leg to show a sign of reassurance. Harry nodded at him with a blankless expression, I didn't think that's what troubled him. 

"Anything else on your mind?" I asked, wondering if he was going to tell us what really troubled him.

"The dementors." he slightly whispered, Hermione's book smacked shut, she scooted her seat closer to us. 

"How've you been feeling since that?" Hermione joined in, fumbling with the textbook cover in her lap. 

"Dunno. It was like more dementors had came over me, freezing up my insides...and it was near-fatal too. That's what the scary part is about the dementors, it seems as if they only attack me. Hundreds of dementors were beneath me, their ugly hooded faces staring up at me." Harry ranted, reminiscing about the awful creatures that ruined our chances of winning the game. 

"Dementors are such lifeless things. They shouldn't have been on school grounds!" I argued, smacking my knee with all my might. Ron looked at me with a side eye, "Why'd you do that?"

"I needed to hit something, so I hit my knee. Does that help?" I retort, rolling my eyes at the ginger boy who rolled his eyes back at me. 

"I'm terribly sorry, Harry. You should learn how to defend yourself in case it ever happens again. It is the second time the dementors have tried to attack you." Hermione suggested, she bit her lip and itched her head like she always did when trying to find a solution. 

"That's not a bad idea. Why don't you talk to Uncle Remus? He'd be glad to teach you." I added, glancing at Harry. He lifted himself upwards, leaning down at me with bulging eyes.

"Seriously?" He excitedly asked, his face beamed as if his troubles were solved just by my suggestion. 

"Yes, but only when you're all better. Easy now, don't need to pop your eyes out next." I joked, pushing Harry back onto the hospital bed.

"Speaking of tutors, I need help with Transfiguration..." Ron blurted out, looking at me sideways with puppy dog eyes. 

"Of course, you don't have to ask, Ron. Transfiguration is really interesting once you put your head to it." I beamed at him, he returned it. A strike of lightning illuminated the whole room. 

"Blimey!" Hermione yelped, almost losing her balance in the stool. 

"Shi-!" I bolted up, throwing my bag on the floor. Ron and Harry bursted into laughter over our reactions. Ron was smacking his knee and cackling while Harry was belly laughing at us. 

"The lightning is barbaric right now." Hermione said, still shaken up from the loud crack of it.

Madam Pomfrey came around with a trolley, there were crumpets and a kettle full of tea with small tea cups surrounding it. 

"Knowing you lot, you won't leave until it's twilight. I brought some stuff to keep your stomachs from growling, enjoy." She beamed, pushing it into our space, closing the curtain behind her. 

"I'll make it, you all stay." I said, getting up and approaching the trolley. I poured four cups, handing them one by one to my friends and sat back down.

"I reckon it's nice staying in the hospital wing from time to time - not when you have to clean bedpans - you get things brought to you and you get visitors while you're laying in bed." Ron said, sipping the blazing tea. 

"Would you like to take my place, Ron? I would rather be able to move freely without feeling pain." Harry scoffed, sipping his tea vaguely. 

"Maybe when you put it that way, I wouldn't want to. But you know what I meant!" He said, trying to make it not seem like he was overstepping. 

"Yes, of course I know what you meant, but right now I would like to be out of this bed and my limbs to work properly again." Harry said quietly, rolling his eyes into his tea. I snorted into my tea watching them bicker, Harry and Ron both looked at each other and snorted as well. 

"You two are something else." I giggled, watching the two laugh at each other's silly arguments.

The night slowly arrived, Madam Pomfrey had come into our conversation about whether we would rather be a vampire or a werewolf, telling us it was time to wrap up and say goodbye to Harry. She told us he would be back tomorrow for our first lesson. Hermione and I hugged Harry goodnight, while Harry and Ron did their weird handshake. 

"When we get back to the dormitory would you like to finally teach Soupy and Crookshanks more tricks?" Hermione asked, as we walked down the creepy, dim lit corridor to the marble staircase.

"Yeah, we'll teach them with the rat toy." I replied, glaring up at Ron. He rolled his eyes at me and Hermione, nudging me in the side. 

"I didn't do anything!" I yelled, half laughing as he tried to fight his smile. 

"Shut up." He joked, pushing me up the stairs. We got to the common room, waved goodbye and hurried to our room.

Stepping into the room, our other roommates Parvati and Lavender were hanging out at the window sill, laughing and smiling. 

"Hello Rita and Hermione! Care to join us?" Lavender shouted out, smiling. 

"We're going to teach Soupy and Crookshanks some tricks, you're welcome to watch." I replied, as they both turned their bodies to us. 

"Soupy! Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed, making noises to call for the cats to come to us. Hermione looked under the beds, in the draws, in the wardrobe for the cats; they were nowhere to be found.

"Um, where are they?" I exclaimed, laughing awkwardly.

"No clue. I guess we'll be joining you after all." Hermione and I walked to the windowsill where Lavender and Parvati were, they scooted closer together to make room for us. 

"We were just talking about how in Divination, our next topic will be palmistry, we decided to take it upon ourselves and read ahead." Parvati explained, Lavender and her were taking several glances at each other. 

"We know you don't believe in that stuff Hermione, but we know Rita does, do you want us to read your palms?" Lavender asked, passing the textbook to Parvati, reaching for my hand. Hermione gave me a weird look, her eyes were beady and she didn't want to get into another fight with the girls.

"Why not?" I said, placing my left hand in Lavender's hands. 

"Very well, so I'll explain, you have three key lines, the life line, the head line and the heart line." She pointed to each line on my palm, taking a peek at the open page in Parvati's lap. Hermione was taking several glances at me, she didn't believe in it at all. 

"Your heart line begins under the index finger, stable love life! I have a broken heart line, disappointment in love." She said awkwardly, then clearing her throat and moving onto my head line.

"Head line, straight, which means... logical thinking, yeah that makes a lot of sense. Life line, vitality." She added, Parvati raised her head up. 

"You got a good palm, that's brilliant. Hermione, want a shot?" Parvati asked, looking at her with a keen look. 

"No, I'm sorry but I don't believe it at all. It's rather guessing than logic." She said, Lavender and Parvati's faces went blank. 

"We're off to bed." Lavender stated, Parvati and her looked disgusted. They jumped off the windowsill, reporting to their four-posters on the other side of the room. 

"Hermione, did you hear what they said? About my palm? Isn't that great?" I giggled, observing my hand with pride.

"Fabulous." She annoyedly replied, sitting down on her bed. I sat down beside her, she sighed loudly and fell backwards on her bed. Crookshanks and Soupy sneakily jumped on the bed, meowing loudly at one another. 

"Are they having a conversation?" I asked, staring at the two cats who were face to face, meowing. 

"I mean they possibly can't... they're just cats." She logically said. 

"In the Muggle world they can't but this is the Wizarding world. And, they aren't just cats... cat-kneazles." I pointed out, she looked at me with a nod. "You're right. I wonder what they're talking about?"

"How good Scabbers would taste." I joked as Hermione laughed loudly, her laugh was so loud that it echoed throughout the room. 

"All right, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, Mione." I hugged Hermione goodnight, settling in my bed for a goodnights worth of sleep.

Hermione and I were matching today with our uniforms, we both had on the cardigans, and our hair, we had ribbons tied in the back of our locks to keep any hair out of our faces. 

"Now look at you two, we can't tell you apart." Ron joked, looking Hermione and I up and down. "Matching, I see." Harry added, smiling awkwardly at us. 

"Why, you don't like it?" Hermione raised her voice a bit, biting her tongue. Earlier this morning, Hermione said that she didn't want any of the boys to make fun, she said to me she wouldn't raise her voice and get mad.

"I thought it was cute." I added in a quiet voice, Ron darted from Hermione and I, he was blushing extremely today. 

"No, it's not that! I do think it is. No, I'm not saying you're cute. I'm saying the idea is cute, yes?" Harry awkwardly replied, Ron looked at him and laughed into his toast. "Thank you, Harry. Appreciate it." I giggled silently, Harry was never good at giving compliments especially when it came to girls.

Malfoy passed by our table, laughing dramatically, "Dementor!" he shouted behind Harry. Harry's whole mood didn't change a bit, he ignored Malfoy and was still being his happy, awkward self. Malfoy saw Harry's reactionless face and moped away with his trolls.

"You didn't even react! Did you see Malfoy's face, it was priceless!" Ron gawked, looking back and forth to take a second look at Draco's face. 

"If being out of that hospital means dealing with Malfoy's snarky remarks, I'm satisfied with that." Harry shrugged, taking a bite of the waffles on his fork. 

"Do you think he bleached his hair?" I whispered, leaning into the table so only my friends could hear. "Definitely, no one's hair is that bloody white." Ron retorted, chewing loudly. 

"Why does he think it's a good look for him..." I added, staring at Malfoy's bleached head from the Gryffindor table. The three all snorted loudly into their breakfasts, Ron had to stop himself from choking on his food. 

"Now that you mention it, he does look terrible." Hermione added, laughing a bit. We were all laughing at our mutual hatred for Malfoy, he was such an evil being so it all canceled out.

In Potions class, Snape made rude remarks at Hermione and I, the Slytherins were laughing loudly like he was some sort of comedian. Draco had yelled that we looked like dirty roaches, Ron's face said it all. He finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy. 

We all watched Ron turn beet red, yelling at Draco, "Don't you make fun of her - them!" The crocodile heart had clashed into Draco's pale face, the gooey texture sticking to his face which he groaned dramatically to catch Snape's attention.

This resulted in Gryffindor losing 50 points, but it was totally worth it. Snape dismissed the class, I hurried out of my seat to talk to Ron. He was at the sink, scrubbing his hands with all his might to get the slimy touch off his hands. 

"Hey, that was wicked! Malfoy's got a huge red mark on his cheek from the heart." I giggled behind Ron, he took a look at me and smirked 

"He was making fun of you in front of me, what he said was untrue and repulsive. He shouldn't be talking about you out of all people like that." He sighed, a blush creeping up around the tips of his ears. 

"Hermione and I were in absolute shock, we had to hide our laughs behind our potion books." I said, handing the paper towels to him. 

"Thank you, well, at least this class is over. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts next?" He asked, looking down at me. "Yeah, I hope Uncle Remus is feeling better though." I sighed, the two of us walked out of potions and to our next lesson. 

Hermione and Harry were standing outside of the classroom, looking around frantically which seemed as for the two of us. 

"There you two are! I didn't get to thank you Ron for making my whole week!" Hermione bursted into laughter, Harry beside her was laughing as well. 

"Did you hear what he was saying, that was barbaric!" Ron exclaimed, his voice cracked a little. "Anyway, If Snape is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off." Ron said, not trying to peek into the classroom. "Check who's in there, Hermione."

Hermione poked her head in the classroom, "It's okay!" I dashed into the classroom, there was nobody in the classroom yet. I ran and hugged Uncle Remus tightly, he had coughed loudly due to my tight hug. 

"You're going to get me sick again, Rita Pita!" Uncle Remus jokes, hugging me back lightly. "Are you all right?" I asked, not letting go of him. 

"Yes, yes, you know how sick I get once a month. But this time it wasn't as long as it used to be!" He replied, grinning widely. 

"Get back to your friends, I need to teach my class and you need to listen." He chuckled, the grin was still plastered onto his face. I sat down beside Hermione and Harry, the whole class started to pile in. 

Explosions of complaints bursted from every student about Professor Snape's behavior while Uncle Remus was ill. 

"It's not fair, he was only filing in, why should he give us homework?" Shouted Seamus. 

"We don't know anything about werewolves -" Dean blabbered while Neville stopped him mid sentence, "- two rolls of parchment!"

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Remus asked, he was frowning slightly. The babble broke out again. 

"Yes, but he said we were really behind -" Lavender babbled as Parvati broke her mid-sentence, " - he wouldn't listen -" 

Then Neville still in shock over the amount of parchment screamed, " - two rolls of parchment!" 

Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on everyone's faces. "Don't worry, I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay." 

We all broke out into cheers, Ron and Harry high-fived each other loudly while Hermione looked terrified. "Thank god we don't have to do that long essay." I said to Hermione, disappointment was written all over her face. 

"Oh no," She quietly said, turning to me. "I've already finished it!" She exclaimed to me, I stifled a laugh and rolled my eyes. "Of course you did."

Professor Lupin's lesson was incredibly enjoyable, he had brought along a glass box containing a hinkypuff, a small one-legged creature, looked as if it was made up of wisps of smoke. It looked rather, harmless-looking. 

"Lures travelers into bogs, you notice the lantern dangling from its hand? Hops ahead - people follow the light - then -" Professor Lupin said as we all were writing notes. The hinkypuff made a horrible squelching noise against the glass. The bell had rang, I gathered my things followed by Harry, Hermione and Ron. 

"Wait a moment, Harry, I'd like a word." Professor Lupin called, the four of us all turned around and looked at Uncle Remus. 

"Rita, we can have tea after this, I'd like to talk to Harry for a moment." He said, I nodded in agreement and walked into the corridor with Ron and Hermione. 

"Harry, remember what I said to ask him!" I shouted, poking my head into the classroom one more time.

Soon enough, Harry walked out of the classroom and waved to me as they all made their way into the common room. Walking back into the classroom, Uncle Remus asked me to carry his trunk and papers to his office while he was carrying the covered glassbox. 

We settled into his office, he started up the kettle that hung on top of the fireplace and sat down in his spinny chair, putting his feet up on the desk. I sat down on the fancy armchair in front of the desk, placing my feet on the desk just like Uncle Remus did. 

"Why did Snape ask for you all to write about Werewolves?" He asked, his fingers were intertwined while he stared at the kettle. 

"I thought he was trying to be spiteful, you know how Snape loathes the Gryffindor for whatever reason." I replied, pulling at a loose string on my skirt. 

"Yeah, I don't know why - erm - did he give Ron Weasley detention? McGonagall had told me he did." He asked, with raised eyebrows. 

"Yeah, Ron got detention because Snape yelled at both Hermione and I. He said, 'I must know about werewolves' . I don't know why he said that? But Ron had yelled at him for me and Hermione." I said, Remus's face moved from the fire to my face, he had an angered expression on his face.

"What about today?" He asked again, it seemed as he was trying to put his finger on something. 

"He made fun of Hermione and I today. Then Draco Malfoy called us disgusting roaches and Ron threw a crocodile heart at his face! We lost 50 points but it was worth it!" I cackled as Remus grew a smile on his face. 

"That is hilarious." He said while the kettle whistled loudly. 

"I know Hufflepuff is versusing Ravenclaw, you think Hufflepuff will beat them?" Remus asked, pouring two cups of tea for both, me and him. 

"You're crazy, Uncle Remus! Ravenclaw is spanking good, but not as good as Gryffindor. Ravenclaw will beat Hufflepuff, then it'll be in our hands. All we have to do is beat Ravenclaw and then Slytherin." I explained as Uncle Remus sipped on his tea. 

"I need to watch your next match, I couldn't watch the last one unfortunately, I was sick. But this one, I'll be cheering you on, Rita Pita."

I was right, Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff out, we were in the running once again. The team watched Ravenclaw, Wood's manic energy came back, he instantly wanted to train once he saw the outcome of the fight. It was now two weeks before term ended, the sky lightened to a dazzling, opaline white and the once muddy grounds were now covered with glittering frost. 

Christmas was in the air, everyone was buzzing with Christmas joy. Professor Flitwick, our charms teacher, had decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. Everyone was happily discussing their holiday plans, but my friends and I were all staying at Hogwarts for the holidays.

My mum and dad had sent me a letter that I had the choice to stay or go home, they weren't going to be home so they suggested I stayed and they were fine because Uncle Remus was here to keep an eye on me. Ron had said he wanted to stay because he didn't want to stay with Percy for two weeks and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library. Knowing them two, they probably wanted to stay to keep Harry and I company. On the very last weekend of term, there was another scheduled Hogsmeade trip. 

"We can do all of our Christmas shopping there!" Hermione squealed with excitement, squeezing my wrist tightly. 

"Hogsmeade is going to look absolutely beautiful with all the decorations..." I trailed off, imagining the beautiful Christmas wonderland. 

"Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!" Ron exclaimed.

Saturday came faster than we imagined, Hermione woke me up from shaking me back and forth. "Wake - up - Honeydukes - today - and - Christmas - shopping!" She said through shakes, her hair moved in sync with her body. 

"Okay." I groggily said, scoffing at Hermione's hyperness. "Dress warm, if not, you're going to freeze!" She squealed, twirling around in circles. 

"Okay." I yawned, throwing my hands up in the air. I slumped over to my wardrobe, grabbing the biggest knit v neck sweater I could find, and regular jeans. I changed quickly, plopped my contacts in and went to sit in front of the mirror. I styled my curly hair, leaving it out today and I put my beanie on my head. It had a huge puffball at the tip of it, so I sat in the mirror watching it bop around as I moved my head. 

I pulled my boots on, struggling to tie them. Hermione had to sit down, and tie my boots for me. 

"You're incredibly lazy." She huffed, placing my foot on her leg as she tied my laces. "Well, you're incredibly brilliant for tying my shoes." I retorted, grinning widely at her. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Hermione and I got our cloaks and scarves on and headed to breakfast.

Harry and Ron were already at the table, stuffing food down their throats. 

"You both eat like pigs." Hermione argued, cutting her home fries with a fork. 

"Mind your business." Ron said with his mouth full. Bits of crumbs flew out of his mouth, I stifled a light laugh. Purposely, I chewed with my mouth open loudly, Ron instantly knew what I was doing. He chewed with me loudly, staring at Hermione.

"You both are being repulsive, now hurry it up." She ordered, crossing her arms across her chest, looking around at people one by one getting up. The four of us hurried up, Harry gave us a hug goodbye, walking off to the marble staircase by himself.

Stepping outside, the ground was glittering with pearly white snow. Snowflakes were fluttering against the icy wind, falling down on my skin. The snow was beautiful, it was the best time of year. 

The courtyard was decorated with a large Christmas tree, which had lights and ornaments head to toe, snowmen that talked, and even a magical Santa Claus with reindeers flying around the courtyard. "Wow." I said, staring at the beautiful sight. "

Hurry it up my children! I would also like to do some Christmas shopping!" McGonagall yelled, Hermione yanked me to follow the group as we were the last group to join. 

"You think Hogsmeade will look even more Christmas-y than Hogwarts?" I asked, taking a double look at the mesmerizing courtyard. 

"Yes, now stop looking back, you look like you're having a fit." Hermione giggled, pulling me by the arm along the stone bridge.

Hermione was completely right, Hogsmeade looked like a winter village in a snowglobe. There were large Christmas trees covered in decoratives head to toe, presents surrounding the underside of the tree while the flurry of fluffy snow delicately fell as if it were shaken by a snowglobe. The stores had streamers and lights hanging from the front with Christmas related things to fill the spirit.

Ron, Hermione and I had split up, we planned to meet up in Honeydukes after our Christmas shopping went first for Dervish and Banges, I had to buy a gift for Dad. Knowing Dad, he loves watching things in slow motion and being able to replay the moments. 

So, I got my father the best gift, Omnioculars. I stuffed it into the bag, making my way down to Dogweed and Deathcap. Mum and Dad loved planting new exotic plants in our backyard, so I decided to buy her a Dogweed plant. I had Mr. Galaria put it in a parcel so it wouldn't be a hassle for the owls to send it off. Mum and Dad were off the list, I had to get Uncle Remus, Ron, the twins, Ginny, Hermione and Harry. That wouldn't be terrible, I thought.

The first store that was closest was of course, Tomes and Scrolls. Hermione would be glad with whatever book I had picked out for her, she loved to read. 

Walking into the shop, I crashed into someone, I lost my balance. The person in front had grabbed my arm, trying to balance me. 

"You all right?" The charming voice asked, I shook my head. I lifted my head and there stood Cedric Diggory, the attractive boy my older friends had all been talking about.

"Aren't you on the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Um, forgive me if I'm wrong, Rita Vixen?" He asked very politely, holding his hand out like this was a formal invitation. 

"Oh, yes. Ha, I'm Rita. You're Cedric, right? I'm sorry we had to meet like this." I said, awkwardly while the boy had beamed down at me. 

"My apologies. Well, this was a funny occurrence, I hope we see more of each other in the future. See you around, Rita." He patted my shoulder, excusing himself out of the bookshop and out into the blizzard. I wasn't expecting to even meet anyone, especially not the pretty boy that my friends all flaunted over! I shook myself, closing the door behind me.

Ron's ginger head turned from behind the bookshelves. I noticed him right away, he had seemed to be gathering a Christmas book for Hermione. He already had a few bags in his hand, and he was skimming through the shelves to find something good.

"Boo." I silently said, creeping up behind him. Ron jumped up in the air, turning forwards, holding his chest. 

"Rita, you nearly made me piss my pants! Don't do that!" He whimpered, trying to regain his breath. I bursted into a bubble of laughter, I was laughing so hard that I bent down and almost toppled over. 

"Are you here for Hermione's present?" I had finally finished laughing, and started to approach the bookshelves. 

"I'm thinking of getting her this Theory of Arithmancy. I know she said it was her favorite subject, why not get her a book that explains the basics?" He said, holding up the book, itching the back of his neck. 

"Yes. You can get her this and I'll fetch her a quill. Seems fair?" I looked up at him, he had a big grin on his face. 

"Let's go now." He said, as we both approached the counter, he paid for the book and we headed out for Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop.

"What kind of feather?" I asked Ron as we walked through the freezing blizzard. "Um, I don't kn-" Ron stopped mid-sentence as we stepped into the front window of the store. There was a beautifully picked peacock quill, I knew I needed to get it for Hermione.

Pulling Ron into the store with me, I searched the little boxes for the exact peacock feather that stood in the window. It was a bright blue with emerald green markings which clashed together like a work of art. I pulled the last one out of the box, there the quill was. 

I quickly paid for it, shoving it into my bag. I pushed Ron in his chest, he was walking backwards to outside of the shop. As we got out of the way of the clearing, I glanced up at Ron. His freckled cheeks were turning brick red, the tip of his nose getting brushed with snowflakes. 

I completely lost my train of thoughts, looking up at the tall lanky ginger that hovered over me. "Um, anyway, buying your gift now, go continue your shopping, I need to buy presents for your family."

He backed away while I pushed him away from SplintWitches Sporting Needs. Without hesitation I ran into the shop, the warm air rushed beneath me, it smelt full of wood and fire. I looked around the shop, Chudley Cannons merch was plastered all over a wooden wall, shelves were full of the bright orange colored merch. Ron's favorite Quidditch team was the Chudley Cannons, that was his ultimate obsession. 

I grabbed one of the medium shirts, tossing it over my shoulder. Across the room was a green colored team, I instantly recognized it as Ginny's favorite team. I grabbed a small green colored Holyhead Harpies shirt, tossing it on top of Ron's shirt. I grabbed a polish for Quidditch equipment and piled it all on the counter.

My last stop was for Weasley twins, George and Fred. Running into the cold blizzard, I stumbled across the long street to Zonko's Joke Shop to gather a very needed item. As I stepped into the shop, the door rang, nobody moved. Noticing the twins, I caught them staring at the boxes of Nose-Biting Teacups, they didn't have enough money for them so I decided to buy them.

I waited behind, waiting patiently for the boys to move away and onto the next item. They stayed there for a few more seconds, moving onto the next joke on the shelf. I sneakily ran up to the shelves, grabbing two of the tricks and dashing to the counter. 

Throwing the money on the counter, they took it gracefully while I shoved the tricks into my bag and ran out of the shop.

Bustling into Honeydukes, the door jangle was more louder than usual, everyone took a double take to see who it was. There I was, with bags from different stores, darting around to see my friends. Ron and Hermione were both beside the Special Effects shelf, gesturing to me to come forward and join them. 

"Would you think that Harry would like these?" Hermione asked, examining a package labeled, "Ice Mice" (Hear your teeth chatter and squeak!") She handed me the package, I shrugged. 

"Are you going to get it anyways?" I asked, she plopped the package in her cart and nodded. 

"I'm going to send Cauldron Cakes to your parents, is that all right?" I whispered to Ron, who nodded in agreement, trying to peek into my bags. 

"Don't even try it, Weasley." I giggled, as we moved onto the furthest corner of the store. 

"Unusual Tastes" The sign read above us, there were sweets piled up coordinated from weird to weirdest. Ron's eyes twinkled to the blood-flavored lollipops. 

"You think Harry'll like them?" Ron asked, lifting his eyes from the lollipops to us. 

"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I expect." Hermione said, her face looked as she had an awful taste in her mouth. 

"No Melt Ice Cream. I think he'll like this." I said, picking the cold package up and into Hermione's cart. 

"How about these?" Ron asked, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under our noses. 

"Definitely not." Harry's voice said, Ron nearly dropped the jar. Turning around, there was Harry, he was in a light sweater and beaming ear to ear. 

"Harry!" I giggled, throwing my arms around him. 

"Harry! What are you doing here? How - how did you -?" Hermione squealed excitedly. 

"Wow! You've learned to Apparate!" Ron said, an impressed smile plastered on his face. 

"Ron, you can't Apparate in or out of Hogwarts-" I added, Hermione scoffing beside me. Ron ignored my thought, staring at his best friend in the flesh. 

"Course, I haven't, Fred and George gave me this..." Harry said, dropping his voice down to show us a map which he thoroughly explained, which was called 'The Marauder's Map'. "Yeah, thanks to these five guys, there are secret passageways all over,"

"How'd you know we'd be here?" Hermione asked, wanting to dig deeper in this mystery. "Rita's exact footsteps were recorded on this map, I followed her here which led me to you guys." Harry said, my face went blank. 

"My footsteps were on the map? Why's that? Were Ron and Hermione on the map, as well?" I asked, confusion filled my head, I had no clue how or why I was able to be located with that silly piece of parchment. 

"Nope. Only your's. I wouldn't think too much about it." Harry said, tucking the folded map into his front pocket. 

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me! I'm their brother!" Ron exclaimed, he was outraged. 

"But Harry isn't going to keep it! He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?" Hermione blurted out as though the idea were ludicrous. 

"Hermione, no. I want to learn why my footsteps are located on that map and your's aren't. It doesn't seem right..." I trailed off, looking to the side where shelves of different kinds of Chocolates were sold and Cauldron Cakes.

The three still being in my hearing, I grabbed a handful of Chocolate bars, Nougat chunks and three packs of Cauldron Cakes into my cart. 

"No, I'm not!" Harry retorted, looking as Hermione's idea repulsed him. "

Are you mad? Hand in something that has both of our friends' footsteps being recorded, every step, every move, and you want to hand it in to McGonagall? Nonetheless that we wouldn't turn in something that good!" Ron had argued to Hermione, trying to keep his voice low. 

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it!" Harry said, trying to rest his case. 

"But what about Sirius Black? He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!" hissed Hermione.

"He can't be getting in through a passage. There are seven secret tunnels, right? Fred and George reckon Filch knows about four of them. And the other three - one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. One of them's got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came through - well - it's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar so unless he knew it was there...." Harry said right before Ron stopped him mid-sentence.

He cleared his throat and pointed to the notice pasted on the inside of the door. By the Order of The Ministry of Magic, dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade so in case Sirius Black is roaming around, they can catch him. 

"See! I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live over the shop!" Ron quietly said, it seemed like he had found a discovery and he was gloating over it. 

"Yes, but - but -, look, Harry shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't gotten a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet, - what if Sirius Black turns up today? Now?" Hermione seemed to have a huge problem with Harry being there.

"Hermione, there's dementors all over, we'll keep Harry covered, we always talk about how we wanted to spend Hogsmeade all together. This is our chance, we just have to hide Harry." I said, as Hermione sighed loudly, she hated being wrong. "He'd have a job spotting Harry. Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas, can you just agree with us? Harry does deserve a break." Ron said, pulling the two of us to his sides as we all awkwardly smiled at Hermione. 

Hermione darted between the three of us, biting her lip, looking extremely worried. "Are you going to report me?" Harry asked her, grinning. "Oh - of course not but honestly, Harry-" Hermione tried to say right as Ron pulled Harry to examine more of the Honeydukes sweets he had been dying to show Harry. 

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Rita?" Hermione trembled beside me, still biting her lip. "Yes, if I didn't, I would have told them. Lighten up, all right?" I nudged her shoulder, she took a deep breath and exhaled. "All right."

Ron, Hermione and I all paid for our sweets, I gained another bag on my arm. Harry and Ron offered to grab some, but I knew their sneak tactics so I shook my head and resulted with carrying bags. The blizzard was raging more now, I bowed my head against the wind, covering my cheeks up with my scarves. We walked up the street as we all pointed at the shops ahead. 

"That's the post office-" Hermione said, pointing. 

"Zonko's is up there-" I pointed, while Harry's eyes followed. "

We could go up to the Shrieking Shack-" Hermione said as Ron had come up with the best plan. 

"Tell you what, shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?" Ron's teeth chattered as he spoke, his cheeks extremely red from the cold wind. We entered the tiny inn, filling a warmth spreading to each part of my body, like I was getting unfrozen. 

The inn was crowded, warm, smokey and noisy as usual. Ron had gone to get the drinks from his crush, Madam Rosmerta, while the three of us made our way to the back of the room, where there was a small vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. 

"Harry, since you don't have any winter attire on, sit closest to the fireplace." I said, Harry was more than happy to take the seat.

Ron had come back a few minutes later, carrying four foaming tankards of hot butterbeer. 

"Merry Christmas!" Ron happily cheered, lifting his tankard up in the air. The four of us clinked our tankards together, interlocking our arms together, sipping deeply into our tankard. We all bursted into laughter, Harry's face said it all, he was in love with butterbeer. 

A sudden breeze ruffled our hair, I almost choked on my butterbeer, Hermione had a good belly laugh watching me. Harry looked over his shoulder, also choking on his butterbeer. 

"I just did that! How in sync are we-" Harry panicked in the seat, gesturing for us to look over at the door. 

"Oh no." Ron whimpered, the three of us pushed Harry's head under the table, blocking his body with our legs. 

"Do something! Do a spell! They're going to see feet!" I whisper-shouted to Hermione who had pulled out her wand. 

"Mobiliarbus!" She whispered. The Christmas tree beside our table rose a few inches off the ground, drifting sideways, and landed with a soft thump in front of our table. This was now hiding our view from the teachers, I silently high-fived Hermione. Of course, with our luck, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, followed by Hagrid and the Ministry of Magic had sat at the table in front of us.

Madam Rosmerta had been taking their orders in front of us, I quickly glared at the two. 

"Act as normal as you possibly can. Harry, don't make a sound." I ordered, making my voice loud enough that both parties could hear me. 

"So, what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" Madam Pomfrey asked. 

The Minister turned his thick body in a twist, searching for any eavesdroppers then in a quiet voice said, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?" Madam Rosmerta sighed, "I did hear a rumor," she admitted. "Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" McGonagall said exasperatedly.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" whispered Madam Rosmerta. "I'm sure of it." said Fudge shortly.

Hermione, Ron and I all shot our heads to one another, "Black's still here?" Ron whispered, the tips of his ears turning red. 

"This is very bad. Very bad." I whimpered, tapping my tankard fastly.

"See, I was right, Black is still here." Hermione whispered, banging her finger on the table. "Shush!" I said, swatting her finger off the table. 

"They don't know we're listening!" Hermione nodded, she knew I was right. Harry, from under the table, yanked Ron's pant leg. 

"Are you listening?" Harry mouthed from under the table, holding his tankard in his hand. Ron looked up from Harry to the group of teachers and back down at Harry, he nodded his head. "Now shush." I whispered, pushing Harry's head back under.

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta, the worst he did isn't widely known." The Minister said gruffly. "The worst? Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?" Her voice filled with curiosity, as our ears eager to listen more. 

"I certainly do." said the Minister. I shared a look with the three, what could be more worse than murdering a dozen innocent people? "I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse than that?" Madam Rosmerta spoke the words that we were all thinking. 

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta." murmured McGonagall, "Do you remember who his best friend was?" Madam Rosmerta laughed, "Naturally, never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here - ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act. Sirius Black and James Potter."

From under the table, Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk, Ron kicked him. "Precisely, Black and Potter. Ring leaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course - exceptionally bright , in fact - but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers-" McGonagall started, Hagrid chuckled, interrupting her. 

"Has she forgotten about my brothers?" Ron whispered to the two of us. 

"I dunno, Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run for his money!" Hagrid chuckled, Ron and I shared a look. 

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers! Inseparable!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Of course, they were, Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry. Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him." The Minister said. 

Harry stayed still under the table, my heart sank to my stomach. Harry's own godfather is trying to kill him. I can only imagine how Harry feels now, if I was in his position, I would have flipped.

"Because Black turned out to be in a league with You-Know-Who?" whispered Madam Rosmerta. 

"Worse even than that, m'dear..." The Minister dropped his voice, proceeding in a sort of low rumble. I felt Harry shift closer to the end of the table to hear more. 

"Not many people are aware that the Potters knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from, Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm." 

"How does that work?" Madam Rosmerta asked, basically asking all the questions that popped in my mind. "An immensely complex spell, involving the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find - unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find the, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!" Minister answered her question, we were all interested.

Ron, Hermione, Harry and I were listening with open ears. "So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" whispered Rosmerta.

"Naturally, James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself... and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself." McGonagall explained. 

"He suspected Black?" gasped Madam Rosmerta. "He was sure that somebody close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements, indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who." 

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?" asked Madam Rosmerta. "He did, and then barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed-" The Minister said but Madam Rosmerta already figured it out herself. 

"Black betrayed them?" Madam Rosmerta said in one breath. 

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, terribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it -" McGonagall said. 

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid shouted, so loudly that half of the bar went quiet. 

"Shh!" McGonagall said, trying to hush him.

"I met him! I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me that rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead... an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I comforted the murderin' traditor!" Hagrid roared.

"I didn't know all of that happened..." Hermione sighed, twirling the tankard in her hand. "Poor Harry." I said, biting my lip. Ron was rather quiet, he was speechless, he had just found out his best friend's backstory, as we all did. He seemed to be taking it worse than we were.

"Hagrid, please! Keep your voice down!" McGonagall cried. "How was I ter know he wasn' upset about Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry to me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him -' Ha! 

But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore', he says. I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o'hours before the Ministry was after him. 

'But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh?' I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter rer sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matter to 'em anymore..." Hagrid had finished his long story, followed by a loud silence.

Ron, Hermione and I were in shock. What could have happened if Black had taken Harry instead of Hagrid? So many things ran through my mind, I wondered how Harry felt. 

Madam Rosmerta spoke again with some satisfaction in her voice, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him the next day!" 

The Minister seemed rather upset, "Alas, if only we had, it was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew - another one of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret Keeper, he went after Black himself!"

"Pettigrew... that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" asked Madam Rosmerta. 

"That's the man who died and only had-?" Ron whispered to me in my ear. 

"Yes.." I whispered back, a whole wave of fear taken over our faces. Hermione was confused, trying to decipher what we had been talking about. 

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter, never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I - how I regret that now..." McGonagall sounded as though she had a sudden head-cold. 

"There, now, Minerva, Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses - Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later - told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing. 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens..." Fudge said kindly, remembering the terrible incident as if it were yesterday. 

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew didm I wouldn't've messed around with wands - I'd ripped him limb - from - limb." Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid. Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I - I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere, Muggles screaming And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him... a heap of bloodstained robes and a few - a few fragments -" Fudge's voice stopped abruptly.

I shook my head, my parents and Uncle Remus had told me the tale of Peter Pettigrew, poor, poor, Peter Pettigrew. 

Hermione turned to me, "What was left of him, do you know?" She whispered, I nodded, biting my lip nervously. 

"His finger... only his finger was left." I said nervously, both Hermione and Harry had gulped.

Harry hushed us from below, crawling back to hear Fudge's words. "Is it true he's mad, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta asked. 

"I wish I could say that he was, I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all of those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man - cruel... pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them... but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored - asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the dementors seemed to be having on him - and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night." Fudge slowly said, his voice was shaking like he was terrified. 

"But what do you think he's broken out to do? Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?" Fudge leaned down, he kept his voice down if there were any eavesdroppers again. "I daresay that is his - er - eventual plan, but we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing... but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again..."

McGonagall cleared her throat, "You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle." Tables and chairs moved hurriedly, the loud rustling of movement echoed to the four of us. 

Soon, they had all left, and a flurry of snow spluttered in to show us we were right. We pulled out our chairs to look down at Harry, his face was pale. His eyes were bulging, he couldn't believe what he heard. 

"Harry?" We all said quietly, he looked miserable. "I need to go - go back, to Honeydukes-" He said through pants, pulling himself by the legs of the chairs. 

"Come on, let's hurry." Ron said, his voice cracked.

We snuck Harry out of the inn and into the rowdy blizzard. Hermione and I covered Harry with our cloaks, trying to keep him warm. The wind was fast, slashing against our faces, leaving us with red, runny noses.

We finally got into Honeydukes, there were still numerous students all over the joint. "Go on, Harry, we'll meet you soon." Hermione said, pointing to the stairs in a corner. 

"Be careful." I whispered, pushing his head down as he snuck behind the shelves and up the stairs. Ron, Hermione and I all exchanged a fearful look.

We walked out of Honeydukes, when McGonagall had ordered for everyone to report back to Hogwarts. The walk back to Hogwarts was quiet, we had nothing to say to one another, we were speechless.

How could Black betray his best friends like that... the amount of disrespect he must have had deep down forced him to do it.

When we got to Hogwarts, I broke away from the group, running up to the Owlery. I went up to the fastest owls, and wrote a card for all four gifts. Giving the girl the gifts for my Mum and Dad, and the boy gifts for the Weasley parents, I let them loose and watched them zoom in opposite directions. 

"Give them my love," I said to the owls, the owls were very intelligent so they nodded in understanding. I sent off down to the Great Hall, everyone was buzzing with delight and cheer. The Great Hall was decorated beautifully but that didn't help my mood like it usually would. 

My mind was still spinning with the terrible conversation I overheard. From the corner of my eye, there was Ron, Hermione and Harry, eating their dinner quietly while the whole other side was bursting with laughter.


	8. christmas clash

I nodded to them, sitting next to Hermione. She turned to me and exchanged a look, What-the-fuck was written all over her face. I silently settled in my seat, dropping food from the platter and onto my plate. Ron, Hermione and I were all exchanging looks, we had nothing to say. 

Fred and George who were sitting beside me, threw a paper ball at my head. It bounced off my head and onto my napkin, I turned to them like it was a reflex.

"Why did you do that?" I said sternly, grabbing the paper ball and throwing it back at them. 

It bounced off of Fred's head, they laughed in sync. 

"Relax your head, Tiny Temper. Guess what we have planned for our end-of-the-term prank?" Fred asked, wiggling his eyebrows in excitement.

I shrugged as George pointed out a brown bag under his seat, sliding it under the table to me. "Look inside." George cackled.

Looking under the table, a pile of Dungbombs were filled in the bag, I gasped. 

I slid it back over to George and Fred were laughing hysterically. I checked down on the watch on my wrist, it was 10 minutes before we would all be leaving the Great Hall. 

"Go now, you have ten minutes before everyone arrives in the common room." I said, they both jumped out of their seats, George pushed the brown bag in his robes and they both ran off into the corridor.

Clearing my throat, I returned back to my friends, Harry sat across from me silently. His raven hair was messier than usual, his glasses were crooked and he didn't make a peep. I nervously watched him, he wasn't doing all right. 

Hopefully George and Fred's prank would make him laugh a bit. I couldn't wait a minute longer for the teachers to dismiss, I bounced up and down in my seat trying to entertain myself.

Finally after 3 whole minutes, Dumbledore had directed for all of us to report back to our dormitories. 

"Come on, don't want to waste a minute." I said to the group, grabbing my bags and rushed out of the hall. The three slowly followed me up the marble staircase, we were the first ones there. I watched the portrait in anticipation. 

"Don't think you want to be the first to walk in there.." I silently said to them, turning my head back to them.

The portrait hole creaked open, Fred and George came out with their long ginger locks messy. "Successful we are." Fred said, fist bumping George. "A hassle, I'll tell you that bit." George said, Ron had appeared on my hip. 

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "You'll see when everyone arrives, Ickle Ronniekins." George giggled, Ron grunted in annoyance. 

Soon enough, all of Gryffindor Tower was there, and the first to open the common room were the second years. 

"Ginny, Ginny!" I whisper-shouted, she turned her back and pushed through the crowd to get to us. "Stay and watch the movie, Sis." Fred pulled her hand, she moved next to Fred.

Loud thuds were heard from inside the common room. "What the fuck!" A sixth year muffled shouted from inside the hole, Fred and George laughed to themselves. I turned to see Harry's face but he disappeared, did he sneak into his dormitory?

We soon decided that we should go back into the common room, the room was filled with smelly smoke that fogged up the majority of the room. I couldn't help but snicker watching the students rush up to their dorms.

"Since I'll probably not see you tomorrow.," I said through a cough, the smoke had made its way into my nose. "Here." I said to the two boys, pulling out wrapped parcels. They smiled widely at me, ripping open the wrapping paper. They both gasped, darting between the present and I. 

"You didn't have to, Ritakins!" Fred shouted, holding up the Nose-biting Teacup in his hands. "I wanted to!" I said to them, George squeezed me and spun me around. 

"You're a light in this cruel world." George joked. "I could kiss you right now!" Fred joked, Ron's loud grunt from behind me echoed through the common room. "Just jokes, no need to get your knickers in a twist." Fred said, winking at who I presumed was Ron. Fred hugged me tightly thankfully. 

"Gin, I also got you this." I said, pulling the green shirt out of my bag. Ginny knew what it was once she saw the green, she was beaming with excitement. "Thank you, Ri!" She jumped onto me, squeezing my neck with her skinny yet muscular arms. 

Ron excused himself up the stairs, "I'm going to check on Harry." The two twins and Ginny soon enough hugged me again in a great group hug, then excitedly walking up the stairs to bed.

The common room was quiet now, Hermione and I were standing in the middle of the room. Sitting down on the floor in front of the fire, I patted the seat beside me for Hermione to come. She sat beside me, taking a deep breath and rested her head on my shoulder. 

"What are we going to do about Harry?" She said, closing her eyes. "You know how Harry is, he's not going to tell us how he feels. I know he's furious, he's going to do something absolutely terrible or he's going to go completely mad." I contemplated, Harry was clearly in shock when he heard the news. He had dashed out of the room, he wasn't doing well.

Ron soon enough sat beside me, huffing and puffing. "Just checked Harry. He's gutted, I could tell." He said, looking at me and Hermione. "He may even try to do something stupid. He's all wocky in the brain right now... who knows what he might do."

"But he mustn't do anything stupid." Hermione said, looking around to see if he was around. "What if he goes after Black? Then what do we do? His curiosity could drive him to kill himself. " She whispered in one breath, her face was apprehensive. 

"We have to convince him to not get involved." I said, looking at the two who nodded.

"He needs to be sensible about this." Hermione said, shaking her head. 

"Tomorrow. When he comes down to the common room, we'll intervene." Ron took a deep breath.

This wasn't going to be easy, we need to convince our friend to not get blown up by a mass murderer which isn't something you had to do everyday. But apparently for us, this was normal, this was just a regular occurrence for us. 

"Hope everything goes well tomorrow, it is the first day of the holidays. Maybe the holiday cheer will brighten everyone's mood." I smiled, trying to bring some light into our conversation. "Hope so." Hermione sighed.

Going up to my dorm, I had hugged all of the girls good night, everyone was going away for the holidays and nearly the whole castle would be empty.

There was a party in Katie and Angelina's dorm, she had invited me and said I was more than welcome to bring a friend. Parties were never my scene, I liked to stay with my group of friends in the calm common room, having enjoyable conversations. But since it was the last day of the term, why not? 

"Hermione, would you like to join me upstairs for a 5th year party?" A cheeky smile grown on my face, she chuckled at me. "I'll stay for a bit." She said.

I grabbed her arm, and flew out of the third year girls dorm and up two flights to Angelina's. I leaned on Angelina's door, it seemed as if there was nobody in there. 

"It's quite quiet for a party, don't you think?" Hermione pointed out. I knocked on the door and Angelina's voice spoke. "Who's there?"

"Rita!" I shouted, the door swung open and the music boomed throughout the staircase. Angelina wore the biggest smile on her face, a goblet was in her hand and her eyes were glossy. She pulled me and Hermione in, shutting the doors behind us. 

"Wel - hiccup - come!" She said before joining the crowd, every 5th year was there, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, George and Fred, Lee and more faces I couldn't see.

The whole crowd was moshing in the middle of the dorm with loud rock music blasting throughout the whole room. 

"Rita!" Voices came from behind me, then long arms resting on my shoulders. "Oh and Miss Granger made an appearance!" Fred hiccuped in my ear, winking at Hermione. Oh he was pissed. 

"Want to come dance, Ritakins?" George asked, grabbing both of my hands and moving them to the beat of the music. "If Hermione dances too." I said, looking directly at Hermione. 

"I'll dance with Granger!" Fred yelled loudly, dragging Hermione into the dance mob. "Shall we?" George giggled, pulling me by my arms. His red hair rocked as the music played.

Everyone was dancing, smiling from every direction. George and I did the twist, bopping our heads back and forth. The music blasted through the speakers that were scattered around the walls. 'Smells like Teenage Spirit' by Nirvana blared on the speakers, I knew Fred and George were controlling the music.

Fred and Hermione were right beside us, jumping up and down. The lights in the dorm flashed red and yellow to the beat of the music. I felt as if this was the time of my life. George was shouting the lyrics in my face while I screamed them back at him. My legs bounced and my fists pumped while I screamed the lyrics of countless Nirvana songs with Fred, George and Hermione.

"Do you want something to drink?" George cupped my ear, shouting it into my eardrum so I could hear. 

"What is there to drink?" I screamed, still jumping up and down. "You're not allowed to get pissed on my watch, not yet, of course. Too ickle for that, Ri." He said, smiling widely. 

"Shut it, get me whatever. I didn't want your bloody firewhisky." I rolled my eyes, pushing George away as he laughed faintly, leaving me with Hermione and Fred. Hermione looked just as happy as I did, we were beaming with delight. 

My teammates came up from behind, dancing on top of me, cheering loudly. Angelina and Katie along with Lee looked smashed. They were all on top of me, George had to push Lee with all his strength to get back to me.

"There you are, darling." he said as the song Lithium by Nirvana faintly ended, Green Day began pounding on the speakers. "American Idiot!" I squealed, jumping up and down ecstatically.

Green Day is Ron's favorite band, during our second year we spent countless hours in the den of the Burrow jumping around to Green Day. Green Day made me think of him.

"You like Green Day?" Fred asked, peeking his head on my shoulder. 

"Yes!" I said. The twins' eyes twinkled, they came next to me, it was like we were in a mosh pit. Hermione too was getting bombarded by Fred's jumps. 

"Don't wanna be an American Idiot!" I shouted in the air, whipping my hair to the rhythm. "Don't want a nation under the new mania!" George screamed, drumming his hands in the air. "Hey can you hear the sound of hysteria?" Fred rocked his head back and forth, pretending to play air guitar. 

"The subliminal mind-fuck America!" Everyone yelled in sync, I had never heard Hermione curse in my life. This was the first time I heard her. Throwing our hands up in the air and flowing our bodies to the music, it felt like heaven.

The clock had struck 2 am, Hermione and I were starting to slump around. The party was still jamming on. Fred and George kissed our cheeks goodbye, while we hugged Angelina, Katie, Lee and Alicia goodbye. We shut the door and came back into the quiet staircase. 

"I'm zonked." I yawned, stretching my hands up in the air. "My ears are pounding madly." Hermione shouted, pressing her hands over her ears. I laughed walking down the stairs, until we reached our room. I kicked off my shoes, flopping onto my bed. 

My bed creaked, Hermione shushed me while trying to fight back her laughter. "I'm sorry." I mouthed, a loud giggle escaped from her mouth. I smashed my pillow into my mouth, laughing into it so it dead ended the sound.

I closed my eyes, the party scene was still on my mind. Maybe parties aren't so bad.

The next morning, Hermione and I got dressed and went down to the common room. It was deserted, except for Ron who sat down on the couch with a comic book in his hand. My heart skipped a beat, I ran up to the couch and jumped right next to him. 

"Morning, you're full of beans this early?" He giggled, tossing the comic book on the table. Hermione scurried to one of the tables behind us, opening up all of her textbooks and scattering papers all over the table. "Hermione and I went to a party." I giggled remembering the night.

Ron's eyebrows raised, he giggled. "Where? In the Gryffindor Tower?" He asked while his freckled cheeks turned red. 

"Yeah, it all lots of weird. You've got to come to the next one." I added, smiling at him.

"Sounds good to me." he smiled.

"What were you reading?" I ask, pointing at the tossed comic book on the table. 

"Oh, this - this is Martin Muggs, The Mad Muggle. Have you ever read it?" He said, quickly reaching for the book and opening it to the page he was on. The comic book was colourful, moving animation was plastered through the pages. Martin Muggs in one scene had punched a villain in the face, he was laughing uncontrollably at the guy who fainted on the floor. 

"Never. Should I start reading it?" I ask, looking from the book at Ron. "It's my favorite. If you want to, you should. It's a good read, I think." He smiled, skimming through the pages. 

"When I'm done, do you want to borrow it?" He added, a twinkle sparkled in his eye. "Of course. If you like it, it has to be good." I felt my cheeks spread into an uncontrollable smile.

"Oh, Ron, I almost forgot." I said, grabbing my purple bag and scooping packages of Peppermint Toads onto Ron's open comic book. His face lit up, he grabbed two. 

"Have one with me." He said, opening his hands for me to grab the package. I nodded, grabbing the sweet. I plopped it into my mouth, peppermint flavoured things were my favorite. "This might have to be the best thing, Peppermint is such a good flavor." I chewed happily.

"Harry, you - you look terrible." Hermione said, causing the two of us to whip our heads to the pale Harry standing on the last step of the staircase. 

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked, he had dark spots under his eyes with a pale face to match. 

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember? It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to come and wake you up in a minute." Ron excitedly exclaimed, watching Harry closely.

Harry slumped into the chair next to the fire, he stared deep into the fire. Hermione got up from her scattered table, sitting down next to the two cats who were spread out on the floor like fluffy rugs. 

"You really don't look well, you know." Hermione anxiously said, peering close to his face. "I'm fine." said Harry. 

"Harry, listen," Hermione licked her lips, she exchanged a look with Ron and I and nodded for her to start. "You must be really upset about what we heard yesterday. But the this is, you mustn't do anything stupid."

"Like what?" snapped Harry. 

"Like trying to go after Black," Ron sharply said. 

"We just want you to not act out on a whim and hurt yourself," I blurted out, looking at him with sincere eyes. Harry didn't say a word, he darted between us with a blank stare. 

"You won't, will you, Harry?" asked Hermione. "Because Black's not worth dying for." Ron said. "You can talk to us, Harry. We want to help-" I said, Harry just looked at me.

He looked at me blankly for a quick minute before opening his mouth. "D'you know what I see and hear every time a dementor gets too near me?" He said sharply, darting between the three of us. We all shook our heads, I felt a wave of apprehensive hitting me. 

"I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and sent Voldemort after her-" 

My hands were shaking, is Harry really thinking of risking his life? If I was in his position, I would have felt the same way but he can't risk his life for this. His mum and dad wouldn't want that for him.

"There's nothing you can do! The dementors will catch Black and he'll go to Azkaban and - and serve him right!" Hermione said, looking stricken. 

"You heard what Fudge said," Harry said before I interrupted him. "Please, Harry, you can't risk your life." I pleaded with him, hoping he would listen but he ignored me. 

"But you heard what Fudge said! Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others." Harry continued, looking as stubborn as ever. 

"So what are you saying? You want to - to kill Black or something?" Ron asked, looking very tense. 

"You can't be doing this! You're acting mad as a bag of ferrets!" I shivered, looking at Harry with bulging eyes. 

"Don't be silly, Harry doesn't want to kill anyone, do you, Harry?" Hermione asked in a panicky voice.

Harry didn't answer again. He looked down at the floor, he seemed like he was thinking. Hermione took a double look at me and Harry, her eyes were bulging too.

"Malfoy knows, remember what he said to me in Potions? 'If It was me, I'd hunt him down myself... I'd want revenge'" Harry abruptly said. Was he actually thinking about killing Black? 

"You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?" Ron furiously said beside me. "Listen... you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me and Rita told you, you know - the Order of Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the biggest bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Harry, and he's dangerous-" Harry obviously wasn't listening, he was acting as stubborn as ever.

"Malfoy's dad must have told him, he was right in Voldemort's inner circle." Harry said, ignoring Ron. I shivered at the thought of You-Know-Who, Ron noticed. 

"Say You-Know-Who, will you?" Ron interjected angrily for me. 

"- so obviously, the Malfoys knew Black was working for Voldemort-"

"- and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip. Malfoy's just hoping you'll get yourself killed before he has to play you at Quidditch!" Ron exclaimed angrily at Harry. 

"Please, Harry! You're sounding mad, please think about what you're saying. You don't need to do anything out of order; tell us how you're feeling." I begged again, I didn't want my best friend to get himself killed.

"Harry, please, please be sensible. Black did a terrible, terrible thing, but d-don't put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants... Oh, Harry, you'd be playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!" Hermione said, her eyes shining with tears. 

"I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them." Harry shortly said. We all went silent, he was right.

But this was no excuse to be putting himself up on the table like this. Crookshanks and Soupy looked directly at Ron's pocket, Soupy was now flexing her claws, she wanted to attack Scabbers. 

"Look, it's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's - let's go down and see Hagrid. We haven't seen him for ages!" Ron blurted out, trying to change the subject. 

"Yes! That's a great idea, Ron!" I exclaimed, catching Ron's drift. "No!" screamed Hermione quickly, "Harry isn't supposed to leave the castle, Rita and Ron -"

"Yeah, let's go, and I can ask him how come he never mentioned Black when he told me all about my parents!" Harry said, hoisting himself up. He had a fire in his eyes, not the fire he gets when he's on the field, a different one. 

Ron and I exchanged a look, "Ron, tell him, no." I whispered into Ron's ear. 

"Or we could have a game of chess, or Gobstones. Percy left a set-" Ron said hastily. 

"No, let's visit Hagrid." Harry demanded firmly. The four of us went into our dormorities, I grabbed my faux-fur cloak and took a deep breath with Hermione in the mirror.

"This isn't going to go well," I said, pulling the beanie with a puff ball on my head. "I know," She huffed. The two of us met the boys and made our way out of the common room. 

"Stand and fight, you yellow-bellied mongrels!" Sir Cadogen shouted, but we ignored him, we strolled down through the empty castle and out to the oak front doors.

We made our way slowly down the slippery lawn, making a shallow trench in the glistering, powdery snow. The hems of my cloak were soaked and freezing, but I fought through the coldness and directed my eyes to the Forbidden Forest. 

It looked beautiful, each tree looked as if it was enchanted with silver veils circling the leaves of trees and thrown on snow at the very top of the tree. Hagrid's hut looked like an iced cake, the roof was glittering beautifully with powdery snow. Ron knocked, but no one answered.

"He's not out, is he?" Hermione asked, shivering into my shoulder. Ron put his ear against the door, his face crinkled as he heard some faint sound. 

"There's a weird noise, listen - is that Fang?" Ron budged up, the three of us put our ears against the door. From the hut came a series of low, throbbing noises. "

Think we'd better go and get someone?" asked Ron nervously. "Hagrid!" called Harry, thumping at the humongous door, "Hagrid, are you in there?" There was a sound of heavy footsteps approaching, then the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes swollen and red, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest. 

"Yeh've heard?" He bellowed, flinging himself onto Harry's neck. Harry looked as he was about to collapse under Hagrid's weight.

Ron, Hermione and I came to Harry's rescue; Hermione and I seized Hagrid's under arm while Ron seized his back and heaved him into a chair. Ron heaved Hagrid all by himself into a chair beside the table, he wiped the sweat on his forehead and gestured for us to come in. Blush came running up my cheeks, it was probably since I was cold.

Hagrid slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face was glazed with tears that dripped from his tangled beard. "Hagrid, what is it?" Hermione asked aghast. 

"Are you all right?" I asked, patting his great arm. Harry pointed down to an official-looking letter lying open on the table. 

"What's this, Hagrid?" Hagrid's sobs became louder, he shoved the letter toward Harry. Harry picked it up and read it aloud.

Dear Mr. Hagrid,

Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.

"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" said Ron, clapping Hagrid on the shoulder. But Hagrid continued to sob, he waved his gigantic hands, inviting Harry to read on.

However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.

Yours in fellowship...

I gasped, Buckbeak was going to get a hearing? Buckbeak, the animal that got disrespected, knowingly you aren't supposed to be a wanker to the animal, is getting a hearing for Draco's fake injury. 

"Oh, but you said Buckbeak isn't a bad hippogriff, Hagrid. I bet he'll get off -" Ron said. "Yeh don' know how them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o'' Dangerous Creatures! They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!" choked Hagrid, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

A sudden sound came from the corner of Hagrid's hut, I whipped around and saw Buckbeak. Buckbeak the hippogriff was lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor. 

"I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow! All on his own! At Christmas!" Hagrid sobbed. Staring at Buckbeak, he was remotely cute. He didn't look like he would cause any harm to anyone, he looked like a happy creature. 

"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid, I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe!" Hermione said, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's huge forearm.

"Won't make no difference!" sobbed Hagrid, "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! An' if I lose the case, Buckbeak -' ' Hagrid drew his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, his face in his arms. Buckbeak, the cute unharmful Buckbeak would be popping his clogs! 

"What about my parents, Hagrid? You know they're a part of AMC! They would help you in any way, Hagrid, I could ask Uncle Remus to send an owl to them if you'd like?" I asked, the three of my friends all cheered.

"AMC is fer Accidental Magic Committee. Yer mum an' dad already wrote a letter to check on me abou' Buckbeak, they can' do anythin'" Hagrid sobbed even harder, if my parents couldn't help, who could?

"Blimey, what about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" Harry suggested. "He's done more'n enough fer me already, got enough on his plate what with keepin' them dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around-'' Ron, Hermione and I whipped our heads to Harry as if he were about to open his mouth and berate him about not telling the truth about Black.

Harry didn't do it, he stood quiet and didn't make a peep. "Listen, Hagrid, you can't give up, Hermione's right, you just need a good defense. You can call us as witnesses-" Harry said, trying to cheer up Hagrid. If we do go to London, I have a smart blazer I could wear, I thought to myself. 

"I'm sure I've read about a case of a hippogriff-baiting, where the hippogriff got off. Rita and I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened." Hermione said thoughtfully, glancing at me. 

"Yes, Hagrid, you can count on us." I smiled at him. He howled loudly, I looked at Ron for any sign of help.

"Er - shall I make a cup of tea?" Ron asked awkwardly, Harry stared at him. "It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset," Ron muttered, shrugging. 

"That's brilliant, Ron." I muttered to him, encouragingly. While Harry and Hermione made more assurances of help to Hagrid; Hermione, of course, mentioned her and I going with him, reading books, and being witnesses and all of that fun stuff.

I leaned on the counter, watching Ron fill the kettle with water. "You sure this will help, Hagrid?" He murmured to me. "Yes, don't doubt yourself, Ron." I encouraged him, he took a deep breath and nodded. He put the kettle on top of the fire and we returned back at our seats. 

Hagrid blew his nose into a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and said, "Yer right, I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together..."

While Ron and I poured steaming hot tea into five mugs, Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee. "I've not bin meself lately, worried abou' Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes-' ' Hagrid said, stroking Fang with one hand and the other mopping his face. 

"We do like them!" Hermione lied through her teeth. "They're lovely, Hagrid." I lied too, I felt bad lying but it's needed. "They're great! Er - how are the flobberworms?" Ron said, crossing his fingers under the table. 

"Dead, too much lettuce." Hagrid replied gloomily. "Oh no!" Ron said while his lips twitched.

"An' them dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all, gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. 'S like bein' back in Azkaban," Hagrid said with a sudden shudder. Hell fell silent, gulping his tea. I watched him, I never thought he would speak about his brief spell in Azkaban. I shuddered in my seat, sipping my tea. 

"Is it awful in there, Hagrid?" asked Hermione timidly, she held her mug tightly and her eyes were looking at Hagrid. I shifted my eyes to Hermione, she turned to me and shrugged timidly. 

"Yeh've no idea, never bin anywhere like it. Though I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind... the day I got expelled from Hogwarts... day me dad died... day I had ter let Norbet go..." his eyes welled with tears, he tried to fight them but they stayed put in his eyes. 

"Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep... When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, everythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feeling in the world. Mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go." He explained, his tears vanished and he was smiling a bit.

"But you were innocent!" Hermione shouted, gripping her mug even more tightly than before. 

"Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long s they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not." Hagrid said, staring into his tea. 

"Stupid soul thirsty creatures." I mumbled, my leg bounced up and down under the table. I hated those stupid dementors.

Hagrid quietly spoke up, "Thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go... tryin' ter make him fly away... but how d'yeh explain ter a hippogriff it's gotta go inter hiding? An' - an' I', scared o' breakin' the law..." The tears had reappeared in his eyes, they leaked down his tangled beard, "I don't ever want ter go back ter Azkaban." The four of us jumped out of our seats, giving Hagrid a great big hug. 

"We'll help you, Hagrid." Harry said muffly in Hagrid's shoulder. "We will, don't you worry." Ron said, patting Hagrid's arm. "A'right enough o' my cryin', yeh kids need ter go back." Hagrid sniffled, he got up out of his seats and walked behind us to the castle.

The trip to Hagrid was far from fun, and it had the nevertheless effect we had hoped. I walked alongside Hermione, chattering about how we should take the empty dorm as an advantage.

"Imagine how much we can do without the load of girls in our room, we could do a fashion show! Randomize different pieces of clothing, put it all together and strut down the room. We can even play music as loud as we want!" I whispered, nudging Hermione's side. "And we could study as long as we wanted without Lavender nagging me to shut the light off." She added, shaking her head.

Lavender and Hermione had some sort of tension since the news that her bunny died came out; I noticed it first hand when Lav read my palms. 

"And we could pretend we're in a band, having concerts in our empty rooms!" I squealed, shaking Hermione's arm with a twinkle in my eye. 

"Yeah, we do have a whole two weeks to do whatever we feel drawn to. We could make a list, right?" Hermione said, raising her eyebrows to see if I was for the idea. "That'll be spanking." I grinned, jumping up in front of my friends.

I threw my hands up in the air, and spun around while the snowy white glitter fell all over my body. The snow was beautiful, I loved to watch the snow fall. Hermione tugged my arm, and pointed at the castle. We were there, Hagrid waved goodbye and we set foot into the oak front doors. 

"Right, I'm going to go catch up with my uncle. I'll meet you in the dorm, Hermione. Start on the list?" I asked, blowing a kiss to them. "Sure." Hermione giggled, blowing a kiss back. Ron and Harry waved bye, as the three went up the marble staircase while I made my way down the empty corridor.

Knocking on my uncle's door, he swung it open to what looked like a Christmas card. There was a small decorated tree where the kelpie was originally, presents scattered around his room, streams with holly and ornaments all around the ceiling, his record player quietly played holiday music. There was enough snow falling down around his office.

He was dressed in an ugly Christmas jumper, this was our tradition at home. He had brought my home to Hogwarts. "Uncle Remus! I didn't even dress into my ugly jumper! I broke the tradition." I quietly said, dropping my eyesight to my boots. 

I had never missed a tradition with Remus, this was one of the many things that we have done together. "Nonsense! I assumed you didn't, therefore," He pulled out one of my old Christmas jumpers with a giant reindeer that flashed red, "Here!" He beamed.

"No way!" I squeaked, throwing my cloak onto the chair and pulling the jumper over my head. I squeezed the button that was sewed into the shirt, the lights flashed. "Aren't I brilliant?" Uncle Remus jokes, sitting back in his spiny chair. He pulled out from behind him, a platter of cookies and placed it onto the desk. 

"Tea's heating up, it'll be just like home, eh?" He said, his hand stretched out and grabbed a cookie. "This is smashing, Uncle Remus." I sniffled, wiping a tear of joy out of my eye. "Anything for my lovely goddaughter." He cheered, waving his cookie in the air. I reached out for the cookie, and took a bite. Just like home.

Uncle Remus poured two mugs of hot tea, handing one to me and placing one down in front of him. "Have you spoken to Mum and Dad?" I ask, chewing on a delicious cookie. He nodded his head, he blew onto his hot tea. 

"All right?" I ask, fanning my piping mug. "Yes, they're out in Australia, they said they bought you something very special for Christmas. Found it at a shop in Aussie, they say it's one of a kind." He wiggled his brows, trying to get me hyped up. "Really?" My jaw dropped, cookie crumbs flew out of my mouth.

Uncle Remus laughed at me, giving me a napkin from his drawer. "Pretty exciting, don't you think?" He laughed, holding the tea in his mug. I nodded, making a cup with the palms oh my hand to catch any crumbs. The snow piled up in a mini hill in his office, he peered over his mug and quickly placed it on the coaster on the desk. 

"Want to build a snowman?" He grinned, pointing at the snow pile in the corner of his office. I nodded, pulling out my seat. Uncle Remus and I rolled medium sized snowballs around the office, they were each half the size of me. And I'm five foot three. He placed mine on top of his, and made a smaller version of the body and topped it off.

"Ready?" Uncle Remus asked, pulling out his wand and pointed it at the bland snowman. "Yup!" I jumped with glee, watching for him to turn the snowman into a decorated, talking snowman. One spin from his wand and the snowman grew a carrot nose, buttoned eyes and smile, a Santa hat, with twig arms and a red and white striped scarf. The snowman blinked rapidly and grinned at us.

"Hello, hello." it said in an accent, "It's my birthday! Let's make a cake but without the candles..." The two of us blinked at each other, and stared back at the snowman. We all bursted into laughter, and had a conversation about the delicateness of snow.

Outside the window turned into a dark purple, the crescent moon twinkled brightly. I hugged Remus goodnight, and pranced into the deserted corridor. It was so peaceful during this time, the corridors were decorated with trees and streamers of holly. 

The snow had breezed through, giving the corridor a beautiful look. Sir Cadogan challenged me to another duel, but I ignored him and crawled inside.

The fire roared loudly, which was the only sound in the once noisy common room. I strolled up the stairs and swung the door open. 

"Honey! I'm home!" I yelled, and Hermione snickered loudly. "Come, look. I need your opinion." She gestured for me to come onto her bed to see the list she made. "Budge up." I said, she moved in her criss cross position and made a spot for me. I laid across the bed and grabbed the list.

Rita & Hermione's list of things to do in our empty dorm

Study till dawn

Fashion show

Concert

Gossip

Sit on the windowsill and stargaze

"Lovely" I rested my arm over Hermione's shoulders. "We can come up with more things throughout the week." I added, handing her the list. She nodded and placed it on the end table. 

"Want to call it a night?" She yawned, looking at me. "Yeah. Oh look at my ugly jumper first!" I kicked off the bed and stood in front of Hermione's face. I squeezed the button and the lights on my jumper flashed red. Hermione gasped and smiled. 

"It is ugly but the lights are cute." I hugged Hermione goodnight and changed into my nightgown. I closed my eyes as soon as I hit the pillow.

"Get up!" Ron banged on our dorm door, trying to wake us up. "We're going to the library! Get up!" My eyes shot open to the loud thumps and Ron's voice from the behind the door. Hermione was already out of bed and fixing her hair. 

I yawned and got out from under the covers and traveled to my wardrobe. I grabbed skinny jeans, my cropped white shirt and my knitted blue cardigan to match. I yawned loudly and slumped to the bathroom. I slowly got into my outfit, popped my contacts in and scrunched my curly hair. My hair was silky today, my curls were silky and beautifully curled today. I shrugged into the mirror, yawned, and walked out of the bathroom.

I pulled my black boots on, and cleared my throat. Hermione's face shot up, I pointed down at my shoe with a smile. "Seriously?" She snapped, rolling her eyes. "Please?" I begged with an even wider smile. 

Ron banged on the door again, "Blimey! You two, can we hurry!" Hermione tied my shoes and rolled her eyes, and walked to the door. I tugged the door open and Ron stood there with a frown and his arms crossed. "'Morning to you too." I yawned, pushing him and walking down the stairs.

We walked into the empty library and grabbed whatever book we could find that had hippogriff cases recorded, we returned back to the empty common room. The four of us sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally whenever we found something relevant.

"Here's something ... there was a case in 1722... but the hippogriff was convicted - ugh, look what they did to it, that's disgusting -" Ron said beside me, pointing at the disgusting detailed drawing in the book of the hippogriff. 

"This might help, look - a manticore savaged someone in 1296, and they let the manticore off - oh - no, that was only because everyone was too scared to go near it..." Hermione gloomily said, turning the next dusty page. It seemed as if we spent the whole day in the empty common room looking up disturbing cases of hippogriffs, trying to find anything good.

Day after day, we would attend the library in the morning and throughout the day we studied the books we gathered for any news that could possibly help Hagrid, then at night Hermione and I would do one of the things on our list.

On Christmas morning, I woke up early, wrapped everyone's presents. A heap of parcels were on top of the foot of my bed. I gasped and saw the beautiful purple wrapping paper first, that was definitely from my parents. I ripped one piece of the paper and Hermione shot out of her sleep. 

"Christmas!" She squealed, how did she wake up from that? I giggled to myself and ripped open the whole parcel. There was a box, I pulled off the top and there was a glistering, silver necklace with what I believe was a diamond shaped.

There was a note under the charm, putting the necklace around my neck, it seemed to magically fix itself and rested right above on my chest. I looked down at the note, it was in Mum's handwriting.

Merry Christmas! Riri, I'm terribly sorry. We haven't been the best of parents lately. Your dad and I are out and about, gallivanting to help some random wizard or witch with their accidental magic cases; Yes we may be saving the world, but we haven't seen our baby girl in months. We miss you so dearly, we think about you everyday. One day, which was around December 1st, we were helping this elder couple, they had a shop and there was some crazy accidental magic problem going on, your father and I helped them and in return they gave us this very necklace. They told me they gave it to their younger daughter when she went to Hogwarts! This necklace is one of a kind, very special, do you want to know why? Two taps of the charm and we get your message and we can Apparate to you. Your father and I think you'll love it. It's brilliant, please only use it when you need us most, my love. We hope you and Remus have a great Christmas, we'll see you sooner than we could imagine.

A tear flew down my cheek, my parents got me such a beautiful necklace that allows them to come at my call? I was in love, I held the blue charm in the palm of my hand and sniffled. 

"What'd you get from your parents? They bought me this!" She said, holding up a lovely antique record player. "A necklace!" I said, pointing at the blue shine on my chest.

I opened the rest of my presents, Mrs. Weasley knitted me a purple jumper with a big yellow R in the middle. Hermione got a blue one with a big yellow H in the middle, along with mince pies and Christmas cake. 

There was a parcel on the foot of my bed, I reached for it and ripped it open. Confetti popped from the parcel, flying directly into my messy hair.

There in the parcel was a homemade necklace that spelled my name, braided with colourful strings. The charm that hung from the letter was embedded with F & G. Fred and George, how sweet of them. 

In the package was also handmade socks with red and yellow stripes and a broom along with Quidditch balls. The note in the sock read Ginny.

The next parcel was wrapped extra smart, I busted it open and there was a purple amethyst stone in the core of the silver bracelet. A howler hopped out of the parcel and flew around me. 

"Hermione! Look, I got a howler!" I screamed, Hermione, who was still opening gifts from her parents looked at me with her jaw open. I slowly grabbed the howler and opened it. The howler grew a spiky mouth and began to scream which echoed throughout the Gryffindor Tower.

"To my lovely goddaughter, Rita Pita, here is a beautifully picked bracelet that I spend months picking out. This is an amethyst gem, I believe it matches you PERFECTLY! Peaceful. Wear this and all the negative energy will be swept away, you need it. See you at dinner!" The howler burst into flames and Hermione bursted into laughter. "Stop it!" I said, clapping my hand on my face.

"Hermione, I got you something." I said, reaching behind me for the long, thin parcel. I threw the box to her, and she caught it. She slowly removed the cover and gasped at it. 

"Rita! This is so beautiful!" She squealed, taking the peacock quill out of the box. She admired the gorgeous quill, placed it carefully back onto the box and jumped onto me. 

"Thank you! I got you something too!" She squeaked, placing the tiny box in my hand. It was a bottle of pink perfume in a circular glass. 

"This smell reminds me of you. Hope you love it." She geeked, peering at me to see my reaction. I carefully took it out of the box, sprayed it on my wrist and held it up to my nose.

Pomegranate and lemon-lime with a hint of peony. It smelled like a floral garden and it made my wrist glitter. "This is magnificent! Thank you so much, Mione!" I hugged her tightly and placed the glass on my end table. There was one last parcel, wrapped terribly, this had to Krobus's doing. There were two large scarves, and two miniature ones. The note said:

For you and Hermione, and your cats. Tell Remus, I miss him. Miss you as well.

"How nice is he?" I giggled, wrapped the scarf around my neck, Hermione did the same and heaved Crookshanks on the bed. She wrapped it around Crookshanks neck and gave him a smooch.

"Look how cute!" Soupy jumped on the bed, I wrapped her neck around the other scarf and smiled. "We need a picture." I cackled, staring at Soupy who looked grumpy. Hermione ran over to her end table, grabbing the weird Wizarding camera and sat back down next to me. 

"Laugh!" I said, holding Soupy against my chest. The two of us laughed, holding the cats in our hands while we all matched with our matching scarves.

Throwing the camera on the bed, I grabbed both gifts for Ron and Harry in one hand while Soupy was in the other and we walked over to the boys' room. They were laughing loudly, we snuck in their rooms and stood with the cats in our arms.

I placed both Harry's gift on his bed and Ron's gift on his bed. I beamed at both of them, walking back to Hermione's side. "What're you two laughing about?" She asked sternly, while Crookshanks meowed grumpily. "Look! We're all matching!" I pointed at each of the scarves with a smile.

"Don't bring them in here!" Ron hurriedly sntached Scabbers from the depths of his bed and stowed him in his pyjama pockets. "Shut up and open your presents from me." I waved him off, petting Soupy calmly. She flashed her claws at the stuffed pocket. Why did she hate Scabbers all of a sudden?

Ron's ripping was so loud that Scabbers thought it was a cat and wigged out in his pocket. Ron petted Scabbers, and pulled out the shirt. His mouth hung like he was catching for flies. "Rita!" He squealed, darting between me and the shirt. 

"Thank you so much!" He grinned, getting up out of his seat and throwing his arms around my neck. His fluffy ginger hair rubbed against my dark cherry hair, and he squeezed me. He let go, still mesmerized by the gift.

Harry gasped at the gift, I whipped my head in his direction and saw a Firebolt laying on his bed. Hermione and I dropped our cats and stared at the broom. I pointed at the broom, clapping my hand over my mouth. The Firebolt, every Quidditch player dreamed of getting one. 

"Oh, Harry! Who sent you that!" Hermione gaped at the beautiful, glazing broom. "Harry! That is so wicked! Can I please, please, please, ride it, please!" I said, running to the foot of his bed and studying the broom.

"And how funny, I didn't even know you got a new broom. I bought you this to help you jazz out the school brooms - but - Wow! -" I gawked, Harry snickered at me. 

"I appreciate it though, thank you so much." He smiled, hugging me tightly with a squeeze. 

"Also, Hermione, no idea. There wasn't a card or anything." He said, his chin resting on my shoulder. Letting go of Harry, I faced Hermione.

She wasn't surprised or excited, instead she bit her lip and her face fell. "What's the matter with you?" asked Ron, rolling his eyes at her face. I sat down next to Ron on his bed, he handed a poorly wrapped gift, and smiled. The gift had a detachable bow, so I placed it on my forehead and unwrapped the gift. 

"I don't know, but it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, this is supposed to be quite a good broom, isn't it?" She asked, exchanging wrapped presents with Ron. Ron sighed exasperatedly, he unwrapped the gift next to me and smiled. There were a bunch of chocolate frogs in the box. 

"Thank you, but - It's the best broom there is, Hermione." I pulled out of the parcel and there was a handmade necklace.

There was purple wire, with a yellow R charm in the middle. I thought to myself, Ron bought everyone a gift, but he made mine homemade. 

A blush ran up my cheeks, I put the necklace over my head and it matched perfectly with the necklace my parents got. "Thank you, Ronnie." I blushed harder, putting the bow on Ron's forehead and rested my head on his shoulder.

"So it must've been really expensive..." Hermione said, bulging her eyes and shaking her head. 

"Probably cost more than all the Slytherins' brooms put together," Ron happily said, peering down at me on his shoulder. 

"Well... who'd send Harry something as expensive as that, and not even tell him they'd sent it?" Hermione questioned, looking at each of us. 

"Who cares? Listen, Harry can I have a go on it? Can I?" Ron impatiently said, rolling his eyes at Hermione. "I could have a go on it too, Harry?" I asked.

"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" Hermione exclaimed shrilly. I looked at her with raised eyebrows, if Hermione is suspicious of something, she must've been right. 

"What d'you think Harry's going to do with it - sweep the floor?" joked Ron, scoffing at her. I laughed in his shoulder, just as I noticed both Soupy and Crookshanks prancing at Ron. 

"Soupy!" I yelled, heaving the cat in my arms. "Get - him - out - of - here!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks' claws ripped his pyjamas and Scabbers attempted wild escape over his shoulders.

Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and he hopped up and down, howling with pain. I seized Crookshanks, holding both cats with my arms. 

Both cats' fur stood on an end when a shrill, tinny whistling filled the room. The Sneakoscope had been removed from the disgusting sock and whirled and gleamed on the floor.

"I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down and picking it up, "I never wear those socks if I can help it ...." The Sneakoscope was still whirling it's annoying sound, the two cats in my arms were spitting and hissing at it. 

"You'd better take those cats out of here, Hermione and Rita. Can't you shut the thing up?" He said, nursing his foot on the bed. I handed the two cats to Hermione, "Wait for me outside." I whispered as she nodded and strode out of the room. Ron's eyes met mine, his blue eyes twinkled at me.

"Are you all right?" I asked softly, looking down at his swollen, red toe. "Yeah, I'm all right. Don't worry about me. We'll meet later at dinner?" He winced, looking up at me and biting his lips. 

"Yeah, yeah, of course." I cleared my throat, moving a piece of hair behind my ear. I took another look at Ron and strode out of the room. Hermione began ranting to me about stupid Ron and his stupid mouse and his stupid logic about the cats hating the rat.

Back in our room, Hermione and I were blasting loud rock music, 'Really Got Me' By The Kinks boomed through Hermione's new record player. We used our wand as microphones, whipping our hair back and forth like we were really rockstars. We danced doing unbelievable dance moves, jumping up and down, Hermione skidded on her knees down the room. I jumped in the air, and landed in a split.

We pretended to play guitars in the air, bopping our heads back and forth to the song. Hermione and I went hard on the song like our lives depended on it. We jumped in a circle, pretending the empty beds were crowds of people cheering us on, shouting our names. I spun around in a circle, jumping up and down aggressively as the song faded. We both panted, we sang on the top of our lungs and danced like lunatics.

We returned back to the common room, where Harry and Ron were admiring the Firebolt that levitates in the air. Hermione wasn't too keen about going down, she didn't want to see Ron because he attempted to kick Crookshanks. 

Ron's whole mood changed when he saw Hermione and I, he didn't want out cats to tried to murder and devour his rat. Harry and I sat in the middle of their silence, trying to talk to the two to stop arguing, but they didn't say anything except for 'No'.

So, Harry and I devoted our time to watching the Firebolt. "It's really wicked." I smiled, walking in a circle to take in all of the details. "It's stunning. I just wished I knew who sent it." He sighed, admiring the broom. 

"Maybe all of the teachers chipped in and bought it for you?" I suggested, Harry's face lighten up. "Maybe you're right, I doubt Snape did though. He loathes me, that evil smile ball." He chuckled, earning a chuckle from me.

At lunch time, we all got dressed in smart attire for the Christmas feast that Dumbledore had prepared for us. The boys were dressed in nice robes, while Hermione and I had nice shirt-and-skirt combos.

The Great Hall had been completely rearranged, the House tables were moved against the walls again, and a single table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were all there in nice attire, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and moldy-looking tailcoat.

There were only three other students there, two first years who were shaking manically, and a sullen-faced Slytherin fifth year. 

"Merry Christmas!" said Dumbledore as the four of us approached the table, "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the House tables... Sit down, sit down!" He graciously said, as the four of us sat at the end of the table. Hermione and I on one side, Ron and Harry on the other. 

"Crackers!" said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who it reluctantly and tugged.

With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat topped with a stuffed vulture. Remembering the boggart, I glanced at my friends, grinning widely at each other. Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard hat at once. "Dig in!" He advised the table, beaming around.

"Um, Professor Dumbledore," I softly said, he looked at me over the rim of his goblet. "Is Professor Lupin attending?" I asked awkwardly, Dumbledore shook his head and looked at me with sincere eyes. 

"I'm sorry, dear, he has rather come down with another illness.." He trailed off, smiling at me. "Enjoy! He's not in danger, you know how he gets ill."

I nodded blanklessly, I scooped mash into my plate along with roasted chicken and topped it off with gravy. "Don't worry, Rita, he has been getting sick once a month always." Hermione whispered to me, chewing the potatoes. 

"I wish he hadn't got ill on Christmas. I looked forward to seeing him." I moped, staring at the food on my plate.

"Eat!" Ron called from across the table. 

The doors of the Great Hall opened again, I whipped my head to the door, hoping it was Uncle Remus. But no, it was Professor Trelawney, gliding toward the table as though she was on wheels. She put on a green sequined dress in honor of Christmas, making her look more like a glittering, oversized dragonfly.

I scoffed and shoved a fork full of chicken into my mouth. "Sybill, this is a pleasant surprise!" exclaimed Dumbledore, standing up out of his seat "I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster, and to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness..." she said in her usual misty, faraway voice. 

"Certainly, certainly, let me draw you up a chair -" His eyes twinkled as he drew a chair midair with his wand, which thudded between Snape and McGonagall.

Professor Trelawney did not sit down, her unusually big eyes were now bulging, she uttered a soft scream. 

"I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together; the first to rise will die!"

"We'll risk it, Sybill. Do sit down, the turkey's getting cold." Professor McGonagall instructed impatiently. Hermione and I stifled a chuckle. Professor Trelawney hesitated then lowered herself in the empty chair, her eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit us. "Tripe, Sybill?" asked Ms. McGonagall, poking a large spoon into the nearest turteen.

Professor Trelawney ignored her, her eyes opened again, she looked around once more and said 

"But where is dear Professor Lupin?" She took her eyes and moved them to me as I opened my mouth, Dumbledore spoke for me. 

"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again, most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas day." He said softly. 

"But surely you already knew that, Sybill?" asked McGonagall with her eyebrows raised. Hermione and I stifled another laugh, trying to contain ourselves.

Professor Trelawney gave McGonagall a very cold look. "Certainly I knew, Minerva, but one does not parade the fact that one is All-Knowing. I frequently act as though I am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous." She said, raising her eyebrows up at Professor McGonagall. 

"That explains a great deal," McGonagall replied tartly.

"If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him -" Professor Trelawney said in a voice that became a good deal less misty. My eyebrows furrowed, watching Professor Trelawney speak so poorly about my uncle. Harry, Ron and Hermione glanced at me with a fearful look in their eye, scared of what will come out of my mouth.

"Doubt it." I said sternly, staring at Professor Trelawney who seemed a bit taken back from the tone of my voice. 

"Imagine that," McGonagall said dryly, peering at me with a wink. "I doubt that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger. Severus, you've made the potion for him, again?" Dumbledore said in a cheerful but slightly raised voice to end all bickering. 

"Yes, Headmaster," said Snape, staring deeply at me. "Good, then he should be up and about in no time... Derek, have you had any of these chipolatas? They're excellent." Dumbledore said, calming my nerves down a bit. The first year boy went furiously red and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.

Still angered by Professor Trelawney's words, I ate silently, not speaking a word or lifting my head up from the platter in front of me. How dare she speak about my godfather in such disturbing ways. Any interest I ever had in her class vanished, I now didn't believe Divination was real like Hermione had told me.

We were all full to bursting, Hermione instructed me to go off with the boys and not wait for her. She said she had to discuss with McGonagall her Time Turner. Harry, Ron and I all got up first from the table, and Professor Trelawney shrieked loudly. 

"My dears! Which of you left this table first? Which?" We both glanced blanklessly at one another, confused on why she shrieked. "Dunno," shrugged Ron, looking uneasily at Harry and I.

"I doubt it will make much difference, unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the entrance hall." McGonagall said coldly. I snorted loudly, everyone except for Professor Trelawney who looked highly affronted, laughed. 

"Coming?" Harry asked Hermione, her face was red and she shook her head. "No, I want a quick word with McGonagall." I waved to my friend goodbye and dismissed ourselves from the table. We made our way into the entrance hall, which was completely devoid of mad axe-men.

When we reached our portrait hole, we found Sir Cadogan enjoying a Christmas party with a couple of monks, several past headmasters of Hogwarts, and his fat pony. He pushed up his visor and toasted us with a flagon of mead. 

"Merry - hic - Christmas! Password?" He hiccuped, looking a bit dodgy. "Scurvy cur." Ron said. "And the same to you, sir!" roared Sir Cadogan as the painting swung forward to admit us. 

"I'll be back, wait here." Harry turned to us, and ran up the stairs to the dormitory.

Ron and I shrugged to one another and sat onto the comfy couch that was heated from the blazing fire in front of it. Harry came down in a minute, carrying his Firebolt and the Quidditch kit I bought him this Christmas. He smiled awkwardly, sitting in between Ron and I and held the Firebolt in front of us. 

"Going to polish it, want to help?" He asked, darting between the two of us. "Of course!" we both cheered, staring at the levitating Firebolt. There were no bent twigs to clip, and the handle was already so shiny and it seemed pointless to polish it.

Instead, the three of us admired the Firebolt from every angle we could until the portrait hole swung open with Hermione and Professor McGonagall. 

Seeing Professor McGonagall in the common room was an unusual thing to ever happen, only she would come in to see if there was a grave announcement she had to make. The three of us got up from our squats, staring at the two of them.

Hermione walked around us, didn't even look me in the eye, sat down and took out the nearest book, and hit her face behind it.

"So that's it, is it?" asked Professor McGonagall beadily, walking in front of the fire and staring at the Firebolt. 

"Miss Granger has just informed me that you had been sent a broomstick, Potter." Our heads all whipped to Hermione whose face was reddening from over her book which was upside down. "May I?" asked McGonagall, she didn't wait for an answer before prying it out of our hands.

She examined it carefully from the twig-ends to the handle. "Hmm. And there was no note at all, Potter? No card? No message of any kind? " Ron and I darted to Harry, he was sweating aggressively and shaking like crazy. 

"No.." said Harry blanklessly. 

"I see... Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Potter." she said, gripping the broom tighter than ever. My face dropped, did McGonagall really have to take Harry's most precious belonging? 

"W-what? Why?" said Harry, scrambling to his feet. "It will need to be checked for jinxes, of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down -" McGonagall said as our faces crinkled with fear. 

"Strip it down?" repeated Ron, looking helplessly at the two of us. 

"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks,"

"A few weeks? Professor McGonagall we need to start training directly after break!" I said blanklessly, I couldn't even believe what I was hearing. 

"As I'm aware, Potter can use the school brooms that are provided, until we prove that this broom is jinx-free." McGonagall said, trying to reason. 

"There's nothing wrong with it! Honestly, Professor-" Harry's voice was shaking slightly, he was so nervous. 

"You can't know that, Potter, not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed."

And with that, Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and carried the Firebolt out of the portrait hole. Harry stood there, shakily with the polish bottle in his hand, his face pale with anguish. 

"Harry, no, I'm terribly sorry." I comforted Harry, who stood helplessly. I hugged him, patting his shoulder while he didn't move. He was engulfed in my hug, while he clenched his bottle harder.

"What did you go running to McGonagall for?" Ron rounded on Hermione. She threw the book aside, still pink in the face but stood up and faced Ron defiantly. 

"Because I thought - and Professor McGonagall agrees with me - that that broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black"

Ron and Harry were both raging with anger, Harry however, stood quietly beside me and didn't say a word. He was still blanklessly staring into the fire. "Are you mad? That's crucial damage taken to the broom, Hermione! Why did you have to grass?" Ron barked at Hermione, his face was red with ferocity. 

"I didn't mean for it to go that way! Why are you so angry?" She retorted back, rolling her eyes at Ron. 

"Because you took away Harry's best gift! They're practically going to tear it down to shreds and Harry's going to get his second broom in another black bag!" Ron shouted in Hermione's face, she looked as if she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm only doing what's best for Harry, Ron! It's better to be safe than sorry!" She screamed back at him, tears shredding out of her eyes. 

"Ron, stop." I muttered, standing behind them two. "She only meant the best. Don't yell at her." Ron turned to me, still red with anger. "She grassed on us, Rita!" yelled Ron, I have never seen him more angry. 

"She didn't mean for it to go this way, Ron! Now stop yelling already, just calm down. All right? No need to shout." I shouted back at him, he took a deep breath and seemed as if he calmed down a bit. "Fine. But I'm not forgiving her." He said, rolling his eyes at me. 

"Neither am I." roared Harry, breaking out of my embrace and up the stairs. Ron hugged me goodbye and dirty looked Hermione on the way up the stairs behind Harry.

As they were soon out of the common room, Hermione gave me a look of disappointment. "You and me, Mione. You and me." I said, pulling her into a hug.


	9. awkward encounters

"Come on, Hermione. You don't need to worry about the boys, they'll get over it sooner or later." I said to Hermione, hovering over her and poking her head. Hermione, however, was laying down on the bed since yesterday, staring up at the ceiling.

She had been in shambles since the two boys were terribly angry with her, she was also furious with the boys. She didn't like that Ron had rounded on her and Harry couldn't even look her in the face. Poor Mione, I thought. She just wanted to watch out for Harry. 

"They're such little children!" I huffed, thinking about how upset my best friend was over their argument. "I'm going to say something, Mione. I'm going to, right now." I said, heading for the door knob. 

Her hand held my wrist and pulled me back. Her eyes were red, filled up with tears bound to pour out sooner or later, and she shook her head. 

"Let's go see Hagrid?" She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "You sure? That's what you want to do right now?" I ask, she nodded her head. 

"Take my mind off things." She replied, grabbing mine and her snow knit hat from the rack that hung behind the door. 

"Gather some of the books that I bookmarked, those have some information we could use to help." She instructed, pointing to the stack of books with all different notes hanging out from the side.

I took three books, passed them over to Hermione and collected the rest. We wrapped up in our cloaks and headed out to the common room. There was a faint conversation from the common to the staircase above. 

Hermione tensed up beside me, running down the stairs and out the common room without a noise heard. However, I walked down, clinking my boots down the stairs. Ron and Harry both turned to me, with a wave.

"Morning, Rita." Harry greeted me, smiling a bit. "Morning," I replied as I walked down the stairs and stood in front of them.

"Where're you going?" Ron asked, shuffling from his comfortable position to look at me better.

"Hagrid's." I awkwardly said, itching the back of my neck. "I'll come if you'd like?" He jumped off his seat, and straightened out the shirt he had on. 

"No, no." I awkwardly snickered, "I'm going with Hermione..." Ron and Harry's faces dropped, they both frowned at me.

"Haha, hot in here, isn't it?" I said, airing out my shirt and looking away from their angry stare. I took a deep breath, turning back to the boys, 

"She's my friend, you know. You guys can be mad at her, but she didn't mean to grass. And, girls got to stick together." I shrugged at the two boys, they both sighed, they knew I was right. 

"In situations like this, you both stick together and Hermione and I stick together. I'm not picking sides, I'm watching you three work it out because - Clearly, you don't want to listen to my advice. - We can hang out later, yes?" I said, looking at Ron, then Harry.

"When you're done at Hagrid's, come hang out with us." Ron said happily, looking at Harry who nodded. I waved them both goodbye, and proceeded out of the common room. 

"Ready?" I asked in one breath, she nodded, and we both strode down the stairs.

The snow had still been falling down outside, while Hermione was talking my ear off, I watched the snow delicately fall down. It was like someone was shaking a salt shaker up from the sky to make it fall just so perfectly. 

I held my hand out as we walked down the slippery hill, to catch any snowflakes and examine them. A few had fallen down and I extended my arm up in the air to catch them. Looking at them, it looked like small little specks.

"You can't see the snowflake like that, Rita." She laughed, shaking her head. I was happy, Hermione laughed, she's been crying for the past few days, so the least I could do was try and make her laugh.

"I want to see the pretty, unique snowflakes." I said in a baby voice, Hermione laughed even harder at my voice.

"Later. We've got important business to work on." She said, pulling my arm while I was still trying to catch snow. 

She dragged me down the hill onto Hagrid's lawn. There were a few snowmen around his hut, they were all talking loudly in their accents. Hermione gave the large door a hearty knock, taking a deep breath.

Footsteps were heard from behind the door, then Hagrid swung open the door. "Hello there, Hermione and Rita! Where's the boys?" He said with a big giant smile. 

Hermione burst into tears, Hagrid looked down at me with a face. "Was it somethin' I said?" He mouthed to me and I shook my head.

With my arm around Hermione, we went inside Hagrid's heated hut and I put her on one of the chairs.

"Wha' happened?" Hagrid whispered, shutting the door and grabbed the kettle. 

"So, I'll explain. Be prepared for this stupid, idiotic reason for this fight." I said, accepting Hagrid's tea. I took a gulp, before opening my mouth to spew this bullshit. 

"For Christmas, Harry got a Firebolt. You know the Firebolt?-" I looked at Hagrid who shook his head cluelessly.

"It's a luxurious, expensive, shiny Quidditch broom, the best players in the league use this type of extraordinary broom. - Erm - anyway, Harry randomly got this broom. There was no note or letter or anything to declare where the Firebolt had come from. Hermione was suspicious, I mean I wasn't really... I liked admiring the broom - oh, sorry, getting too carried away - it is very dodgy when there is a serial murderer on the loose, looking specifically for Harry and then all of a sudden, there - is - a - random - broom that costs a bomb laying on the foot of his bed! Wouldn't you be iffy about it too, Hagrid?" I ask, banging the table between every word in annoyance.

"Hermione had every reason to do it. And then, Ron and Harry have the nerve to tell Hermione off. Of course, I did say something to them, talked their ear off about it, and they still didn't listen." I said, banging the table again. Hagrid seemed thoughtless, he darted between Hermione's wails and my fist beating his table up.

"Why are they bein' this way? Real sorry, Hermione. Can' believe they chose a broomst'ck over their friend... they need to check ou' their pr'orit'es." Hagrid said, looking disappointedly. 

"I'm sorry for crying," Hermione sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. 

"We wanted to show you what we found so far, Hagrid." Hermione and I dumped the bag full of books onto the scrubbed table, lining them up along the table. 

"Each book has some sort of evidence, advice, or even an advantage that could help you out for this court case, everyone has been going to the library and gathering books to help. Rita and I bookmarked almost all of them, we really want to help." Hermione said, gazing over her shoulder.

Hagrid's face lightened up, he pried open the books in front of him, skimming each of the bookmarks. There Buckbeak was in a Santa hat, tossing and turning on Hagrid's quilt. 

"Can I pet him, Hagrid?" I ask, Hagrid nodded without breaking his view from the pages he was staring at. Buckbeak looked up at me, his orange eye staring into my eyes, I bowed down at the creature.

He bowed back, happiness grew inside of me as I ran up to the quilt, ruffling his feathers. Buckbeak was such a lovable animal, his huge grey beak rubbed against my face.

While Hermione and Hagrid were discussing different strategies at the table, drinking tea and eating Hagrid's terrible cooking; I played with Buckbeak. 

Buckbeak and I snuck through the backdoor, we played fetch with a random thick stick laying on the ground. Buckbeak who was much bigger than I am, always made sure to drop it at my feet and not on my head. He ran back and forth while I threw the stick as far as I could, while the snow fell all over us. It felt magical.

"Rita! Buckbeak!" Hermione shouted from the window, I looked up and there was Hermione's face hanging out of the window. 

"Come back in before you freeze out there! Look at your face, you're red! Your hair is literally white as snow!" She scolded me, smashing the window closed. 

Buckbeak came close to my face with a remorseful face, "Don't worry, you didn't get me in trouble. I do that myself. We'll play again soon." I pet the top of his head, and we strolled back into the hut. Buckbeak shook his feathers, splattering snow all over Hagrid's walls, Hagrid and Hermione. Hagrid looked at us both blank-faced.

He's mad, he's going to strangle me with his giant hands, I thought to myself. Hagrid wiped their snow off his lips, bursting into a bubble of laughter. 

"Oh, Buckbeak!" He cried, getting out of his seat and engulfing the hippogriff, that was surprisingly smaller than him, into a hug. Hermione was chuckling to herself, wiping the snow off of her with a wave of her wand.

I sat down next to Hermione, skimming the books with her. We spoke only when there was a crazy piece of information we needed to note, or when we found a disgusting picture. Animal cruelty towards Hippogriffs was real, they truly are the most misjudged. 

Hours passed by, after filling up on tea and the mad amount of information we gathered, we decided to head up to the castle. I kissed Buckbeak goodnight, and waved Hagrid goodbye, shutting the door behind us.

The ground below us was full of snow, it looked like we could have ice skated on it. Hermione and I crossed our arms and ran carefully up the slippery hill to the castle.

One step, and my foot flew behind me, Hermione caught me before breaking my jaw and pulling me up. She laughed hysterically in my ear about my face, and the way my body moved. 

"I could have died!" I screamed, jokingly. 

"But you didn't, so I think I could laugh about it!" she said, laughing again in my ear.

After getting up the terrible hill that could have resulted in my death, we finally arrived at the stone steps. I stepped one by one, carefully, trying to not result in another slip. 

Hermione, who was waiting at the top of the stairs, pointed at me and laughed at me. 

"Do you think this is funny?" I asked, looking down at my feet and back at her. "Yes." She snorted, pushing the oak doors open. "Could have died and you're laughing." I sarcastically said, snorting at myself.

Our laughter echoed through the empty corridors, and into the Great Hall. Ron and Harry's head both shot in our direction and watched as we both walked into the hall and sat down. We were sitting opposite them, I waved to the two boys.

Their faces immediately changed, they waved and gave me a cheeky smile. Eating in the Great Hall, when your friends are vividly ignoring one another and trying to talk to me all at once, was a struggle.

I was darting my head to Ron and Harry, then at Hermione, then back to Ron, then to Hermione who pulled my arm, then Harry who clinked his fork on my plate. It went on like that all dinner, I felt like I was getting pulled in all directions at once. 

I think even the teachers noticed my discomfort, McGonagall and Dumbledore looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.

Dumbledore dismissed all of us from dinner around 8 o'clock. I got out of my seat, stretching my legs out. Looking over my shoulder was Hermione, and behind her was Ron and Harry. 

"Hm," I said with a shrug, leaving the room.

Hermione, Harry and Ron were all spread out behind me, following me. 

I skipped through the corridor and turned as I made my way through the cold, windy corridor.

Hermione caught up beside me, pulling me to the side. "I'm going to the dormitory early tonight," she whispered in my ear, looking at me with a shrug. 

"Meet you there, later." She said, turning her back to me and strode away.

She faced me from across the hall, blowing me a kiss goodbye. I blew a kiss back, as the two boys' scattered footsteps ran behind me. 

"Want a go at Gobstones?" Ron said, resting his chin on my shoulder. 

"Race you there, Weasley, Potter?" I looked at both of them, snickering.

I dashed in front of them, running to the marble staircase. The wind was blowing through my hair and the boys were screaming behind me.

"Not fair, Vixen!" and "Cheater!"

Over the top step of the marble staircase the boys made it to the bottom step. I blew them a raspberry and laughed loudly, echoing through the empty castle.

I quickly told Sir Cadogan the password, dashing into the common room and into the fancy armchairs in front of the fire. Regaining my breath, I grabbed one of the Gryffindor blankets that were folded nicely on the tea table, throwing it over my body. 

Scattered footsteps and laughing were heard from the portrait. The portrait hole swung open, creating a loud creak, followed by loud footsteps of who I guessed were Ron and Harry. 

"She's pretending to be a ghost, hiding like a dweeb." Ron whispered to Harry, they both snickered loudly. I threw the blanket off of me, staring at Ron. He laughed more loudly at my frown and crossed my arms.

You know, you're not very good at hiding." Harry said, picking the blanket up and folding it back onto the pile. 

"I know, I was only joking." I said, as he laughed. Ron had run up stairs to grab his set, leaving Harry and I by ourselves. 

"All right?" I asked, fixing my legs in a crisscross position. 

"Eh. Could be better. Still wish I had my Firebolt." He sighed, looking at me and rolling his eyes. 

"Hermione was only looking out for you," I added, biting my lip.

Harry was more sensible than Ron when it came to feelings, that's one of the many things that Harry and Hermione share. Ron and I act more on emotion while they act on logic, most of the time. 

"I know she did, I wish she didn't though. I don't think it was jinxed." He said with a pout. 

"I'm back with the stones! Hope you're both ready for putrid juices in your mouth!" Ron exclaimed, waving the box in his hand, peering over the banister. He then slid down on the banister. Ron took a look at Harry, then at me with a cheeky smile. 

"Can you believe there's a team for this?" I remembered, laughing to myself.

"Only losers are on that team, and it's not even a real sport! A real sport is Quidditch, and a really good team is the Chudley Cannons!" Ron added, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Chudley Cannons this, Chudley Cannons that." Harry muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. 

"Harry! You know they're the best team." Ron retorted, placing the set of stones onto the table. 

"Of course they are, Ron. Biggest supporters of Chudley Cannons right here." Harry said with a chuckle. Ron widely grinned at Harry, setting up the game on the table.

The three of us sat down on the floor around the table and started up a game of Gobstones. The more points you lose, the more putrid taste you get in your mouth. All of us got a few squirts of the disgusting juice, but Harry, who lost, got bombarded with it. 

"Harry!" I exclaimed, throwing my head back of laughter. Harry's face was dripping, he looked nauseous. 

"You weren't joking when you said it was putrid." Harry gagged, running to the nearest rubbish bin.

Ron and I ran behind Harry, patting his back while he heaved his insides out. "There you go, yeah, get it all out." Ron patted his back, holding his nose to not get a whiff of the smell. "Almost there." I said, holding my nose and rubbing Harry's back. Harry spat all into the bin, I snatched his glasses off his face as they were sliding down the bridge of his nose. 

Ron grabbed Harry's glasses, putting them on his face. Ron did a ridiculous face, pretending to be Harry. I couldn't help but laugh at his stupidity, Ron was jumping around and acting like Harry while the real Harry was still puking his guts.

Harry spit one last time, lifting himself back up and facing the two of us. His face was pale, and he squinted at Ron. 

"Who's the real Harry?" Harry joked, taking his glasses off of Ron. 

"I did a really good impression of your walk, Harry. Do you want to see it?" Ron asked, trying to make his best friend laugh. 

"The only thing I want to see is blackness, which is when I shut my eyes and call it a night." He groaned, holding his stomach. "Blimey, forgive me for trying to make you laugh." Ron retorted sarcastically. 

"Show me it tomorrow, yes? Can you both help me up the stairs?" He groaned again, turning his head to the boys' dormitory. "Yeah, of course, mate." Ron said, holding Harry's side, while I grabbed the other. We heaved the poor Harry up the stairs, and into his room.

We placed the boy in his bed, tucking him in like he was our child. "Night, night, Harry. You'll feel better tomorrow." I said, rubbing his arm. "See you." Ron added, as the two of us strode out of the room.

He shut the door behind us, the two of us walked quietly back into the empty common room. My heart started to beat faster with every step I took, I had no idea why. 

Ron and I sat down on the couch, taking a deep breath. It was quiet for the most part until I opened my mouth. 

"Are you not going to talk to Hermione?" I asked, breaking the silence, looking at him directly. He tensed up beside me, a frown grown on his cheeks. 

"She grassed on Harry, Rita. You of all people should know how it feels to be grassed on." He retorted hesitantly, biting his lip. 

"I didn't mean it in that tone, but - Rita, she is our best friend, and she grassed on us. I'm just disappointed." He added in a softer tone, he let his shoulders down. Butterflies filled my stomach each time he spoke my name.

"I know you are, but Hermione was just looking out for Harry. With Black on the loose, we need to be extra careful with situations." I explained, gazing in his blue-green eyes...

"Yeah, I know she was trying to do the right thing, but Harry's broom may even be brought back in a black bag even if it wasn't jinxed. I just don't want Harry to get upset again over another broom," He said, looking at me biting the side of his cheek. 

"As well as I do. Hermione's just been upset over it, I don't like her to be upset." I said, fiddling with my fingers in my lap. 

"How about this, I'll be fine with Mione after the Firebolt comes back in one piece. Deal?" He says, putting his hand out in front of me.

"Fine, you've got yourself a deal, Ronnie." I said, grabbing his hand and shaking it. Blush ran over both of our cheeks, we both let go of each other and laughed awkwardly. 

"Have you spoken to your uncle?" Ron says awkwardly, trying to make it less weird. "Not for a few days. Whenever Uncle gets sick, I'm not allowed to see him. Dunno why. Just what I've always known, so I don't question it. When you question things, your mind won't stop with the questions. So I stay away from it." I said, shrugging and pulling out two chocolate frogs. I handed one to him and ripped open the one in my hand. 

"I might start doing that..." he said, smiling at me when I handed him the frog.

"Do you always have two in your pocket?" he asked, looking down at me. I nodded, chewing the chocolate frog happily. 

"One for you, one for me." I replied, giggling at him. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes with a smirk on his freckled face, and wrapped his arm around me.

I gathered the wrappers from both of us, and crumbled them in my hand. "Should we go up now?" I asked, licking the bottom of my top teeth. 

"Pretty late, I reckon. See you tomorrow then?" He asks, getting up from his seat and holding his hand out in front of me. 

"Yeah." I blushed, grabbing his hand as he lifted me up out of my seat and walked me up the stairs. Stopping in front of my door, we both were still holding hands.

I bounced up and down on my heels, waiting for him to say anything. 

"You're really short." He snorted, itching the side of his head. 

"Wow." I rolled my eyes, twirling a piece of hair with my free hand. 

"Good night," He smiled, the tips of his ears turned bright red. 

"Night, Ron." I stifled a toothless grin, opening the door to my dorm.

Shutting the door behind me, I took a deep breath. Putting my hand on my chest, my heart was thumping out of my chest. I exhaled, bouncing back onto my bed.

Lifting myself up with my hands, Hermione was already sleeping in her bed. Her candles were still on, one wave of my wand and I shut them all. Soupy jumped up, sitting on my head. 

"Soupy, this is my head." I muttered, snickering to myself. Soupy meowed in response, moving her fluffy self into my arms. I slowly fell asleep, still wondering about Ron's blue-green eyes.

Hermione and I both spent the remainder of the days, going back to the library and gathering information for Hagrid, then going down to Hagrid's; I knitted Buckbeak a hat, he let me put it on his head, and he wears it when we play catch. 

Books after books filled my tiny brain, trying to help Hagrid find any detail to help with his trail. We have been making progress though.

And right after New Year's Day, the whole castle was filled with students and the Gryffindor Tower was crowded and noisy again. 

"Rita!" The twins spotted me in the corridor with loads of books in my arms. "You're back! How were your holidays?" I stood up on my tiptoes, kissing both Fred and George's cheeks. 

"We tested your present out." Fred cackled, looking at George who was cackling as well. "On mum. She freaked out! It was priceless, really." George said, laughing even harder to himself. 

"On your mum! Your mum must have hit you or something - why did you do that to your mum?" I rolled my eyes, scoffing at the two who were clearly infatuated with their prank.

"She indeed did hit us, called us arseholes!" Fred exclaimed, a group of first years whipped their heads to Fred, confused on why he just said a curse out in the open. 

"Arsehole!" Fred said again, looking directly at the first years. "Freddie, you scared them!" George said, pointing at the kids who were backing away slowly. "They looked as if I was mental!" Fred retorted, I snorted at the two of this bickering. 

"You're wearing the bracelet we made you!" George pointed out the shiny F & G charm hanging from my purple bracelet.

"Yes, you got my letter?" I asked. "Wouldn't know." Fred shrugged, "Errol has been snuggling up by the fire all holiday. He hasn't moved." George added, shrugging. 

"Of course he has." I muttered, looking down at the floor. Loud footsteps came running from behind me, sounding like at least three people speeding around the halls.

Someone tugged me, dragging me to the other side of the corridors. "Bye then! We'll see you at breakfast" They said in sync, laughing and waving as their waves became blurs. 

"Oliver wants to talk to us," a voice like Harry's said, pulling me by the arm.

"You had to get me like that, Harry? No warning? Just getting dragged?" I exclaimed, shaking the arm he had in his grip. "I happened to see you, so I grabbed you." He snickered, glancing over to Ron, who was laughing his head off. 

"If only you could see your face right now." Ron laughed as Oliver shushed us a foot ahead of us. Harry still had my arm in his hand, pulling me down the crowded corridor, while Ron was beside us laughing up a storm.

Oliver was scoping out in front of us for an empty classroom through the crowds of students that were all shouting "Hey!" while we ran. 

"Sorry! Hope you had a pleasant Christmas!" Ron said, pushing and running into different people. Even in the craziest moments, he still made my heart skip a beat. 

Oliver soon slipped out of our sight and into a classroom, pulling the three of us in quickly. Harry let go of me, and I jerked my arm back and stuck my tongue at him.

"What was so important that you lot had to drag me through a rowdy crowd into a deserted classroom!" I asked, taking in the dusty blackboard and paintings around the walls. Oliver had a serious look on his face, staring at the three of us in front of him. 

"Had a good Christmas?" Oliver said, not even waiting for any of us to answer, he sat down on top of a desk and started to check around the room as if he didn't bring us to a deserted classroom. 

He lowered his voice, "I've been doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After the last match, you know if the dementors come to the next one... I mean... we can't afford you to - well -" He stopped hesitantly, looking awkward at the three of us. I crossed my arms, raising my eyebrows at him... Is he going to say what I think he's going to say?

"I'm working on it, Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas." Harry quickly said, tapping his foot a bit. 

"Ah," his expression cleared, "Well, in that case, I really didn't want to lose you as a Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom?" Ron and I side eyed one another. Oh, no, I thought. 

"No," Harry awkwardly said, tapping his foot even faster. 

"What! You'd better get a move on - you know - you can't use the Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!" Oliver exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. 

"He got a Firebolt for Christmas," Ron said awkwardly, looking at me with a shrug. 

"A Firebolt? No! Seriously A - a real Firebolt!" Oliver exclaimed even louder, his eyes bulging and his jaw hung. I bit my lip, looking awkwardly at Harry. 

"Don't get excited, Oliver, I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated," he said gloomily, explaining all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes. 

"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?" Oliver questioned, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sirius Black, he's supposed to be after me. So McGonagall reckons he might have sent it." Harry said wearily, as I nodded my head while biting the side of my cheek. Oliver didn't acknowledge that a famous murderer was after him, he waved it aside which took me back a bit. 

"But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?" yelled Oliver so loud, I reckon the whole corridor could've heard us. 

"I know, but McGonagall still wants to strip it down..." Wood's whole face went pale and blank. 

"I'll go and talk to her, Harry, I'll make her see reason... A Firebolt... A real Firebolt, on our team... She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do... I'll make her see sense. A Firebolt..." he promised us, looking determined as ever.

"When we get that Firebolt back, the cup is in our hands! Do you realize that Harry James Potter?" I squealed, bouncing up and down in place and squeezing Harry's arm as we walked out of the classroom. 

"Yes, I do realize that Rita Claudie Vixen..." Harry trailed off, giggling with Ron. 

"With my superb Chasing and your smashing Seeking skills! And of course our ruddy team... We have this cup in the bag!" I squealed again, pulling Ron's arm, so he could be closer. Ron looked from the corner of his eye, smiling from ear to ear.

I rested my arms over Harry and Ron's shoulders. Since Ron is tall, he crouched down for me. I squealed, engulfing the two in my embrace while I squealed into their ears.

"All I want this year is for us to win this bloody cup," I said, breaking from their embrace and snatching their hands. I was so excited, Wood got me in some sort of new mood. Our chances of winning that game against Ravenclaw would be higher odds than before. "We're going to get that bloody cup," Harry said determinedly, squeezing my hand.

'You're going to kill it, hopefully when there are new spots I could make the bloody team. Then we could all be on a team and win every game, guaranteed." Ron said, grinning widely. 

"You would be a spanking good Keeper, Ron." I said, looking up to him. We looked at each other, blush overcame my cheeks. I bit my lip and looked away, continuing our walk to the Gryffindor common room.

Classes started up again the next day, Hermione and I got out of bed and hurriedly got ready for two hours on the ground on a raw January morning. I yawn loudly, walking down the stone staircase to the common room with Hermione beside me rubbing her eyes. 

To my surprise, the boys weren't at the bottom step of the staircase to even wait for us. I bit my lip and looked at Hermione, who clearly noticed too. "Who cares?" I shrugged, yawning even louder out of the common room.

When we arrived at the dewy grass, Hagrid had provided us with a bonfire full of salamanders for our enjoyment. I crouched down, looking at the little fire salamanders running around the white logs, all blowing fire at one another. 

"Fer yer lesson today, we are collectin' dry wood," Hagrid pulled out a dry piece of white wood, to demonstrate it to the class. " 'nd leaves," He said, pointing at a red leaf in his hand. "This is to keep the fire blazin' fer the flame lovin' lizards. Look at them go!" He laughed loudly, pointing at the little salamanders running around. 

"Gather the logs, leaves, dry wood and place it gently in the fire. Like this." He said, placing the dry wood gently down in the blazing fire. The salamanders ran around the bonfire happily as the fire blared and the wood crumbled. Hagrid allowed all the class to rummage around and find any wood to give to the fire loving lizards.

Hermione and I set off around Hagrid's hut and peeped at Buckbeak. Buckbeak was asleep soundly on Hagrid's quilt. 

"Poor hippogriffs." I sighed, marching down to a pile of dry wood. Hermione exhaled, grabbing a few pieces and nodded. "They get treated so poorly."

"They don't deserve that, there needs to be some sort of revolution for them." I said, thinking as I grabbed a few pieces of wood laying down. Carrying the great wood to Hagrid, my mind swarmed with ideas how to help hippogriffs. Hippogriffs are beautiful, proud creatures, you should know that you do not disrespect them, otherwise you could get seriously injured. Other than that, of course, they're lovely creatures.

For two hours straight, Hermione and I went back and forth gathering wood, and watching the salamanders run around happily. It was a rather enjoyable lesson, but our next lesson wouldn't be so enjoyable. 

The first Divination lesson of the term was such a bore, Hermione and I sat with the boys who were still ignoring Hermione which irked my soul. 

But other than that, Professor Trelawney irked my soul at the moment. She had said such rubbish at Christmas dinner that made me hate her class. My three friends saw my face, red and a frown plastered against my face.

Ron and Harry tried to make me laugh, but until Professor Trelawney came beside Harry and told him he had the shortest lifeline she has ever seen. As soon as she slithered away, I snatched his hand and read the book. 

"Rubbish. Your lifeline is exceptionally long, look in our books, it shows that you will have a long life but with many hard decisions to make." I said, looking at him as Ron's jaw hung. 

"Read mine!" He whispered, extending his palm for me. I held his palm, reading the lines. 

"This is your lifeline," I said, skimming my finger against the line. He giggled as I tickled his palm, 

"That tickles! Behave." He jolted his hand back as Harry snorted into his book.

"Give it back, now see, yours is long too, long life like Harry and I. Your line shows that you have a tendency of being impetuous." I said, darting between the book and his hand. 

"That's true." Harry giggled as Ron nodded his head. 

"Don't tell anyone, but I think you're better than Trelawney." Ron said as I blushed. 

"Really?" I scoffed, "Maybe I'm a true Seer after all." Ron and Harry both nodded at me, "Predict if we will win the cup!" Harry whispered, leaning on the white cloth. 

"Yes, we will, now, shut up before a Ravenclaw hears you." I whisper back, shutting my book. I had no idea if we would, but I was determined we would.

The bell had rung and the four of us set off to Defense against the Dark Arts. Harry was so eager to get to the class, my uncle giving him lessons must have cured his sadness. We arrived earlier than everyone else, Uncle Remus who looked ill, pale faced and baggy eyes, I ran up to him and dumped my purple bag full of chocolate. 

"Merry belated Christmas, Uncle Remus!" I cheered loudly as Uncle Remus' smile grew wider and wider. 

"Thank you, Rita Pita." He engulfed me into a hug, "Look at my new robe, your Mum and Dad have got me." He said, letting go and showing off the velvet robe my parents had given him. Forest-green his favorite color. 

"Ravishing!" I giggled, as the loads of students came running into the classroom. "See you later?" I ask, backing away. 

"Of course." He laughed as I spun around to my seat. 

Ron and Harry were now staring at me with a weird look, waiting for me to sit in the empty seat. "So weird." I muttered to myself, sitting in the seat beside them. Everyone in Uncle Remus' class was so excited to start his class up again. 

Today Uncle Remus's class was right before Dinner, so we would have our daily tea after.

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Ron whispered to me, as we headed into the corridor to dinner. "Hope he's all right," Ron said, looking at me. 

I had told Ron the story already, he was obviously curious about the whole Remus getting ill for some time, but he wouldn't pry. Hermione tutted loudly behind us, as the three of us whipped our heads to see her.

She was repacking her back behind us, trying to catch up with us. "And what are you tutting at us for?" asked Ron irritably. 

"Nothing," said Hermione in a lofty voice, heaving her bag over her shoulder. "Yes, you were, do you need something from us?" Ron said, rolling his eyes. 

"Nope, I'm following my friend, Rita, she is my friend." She said with a look of maddening superiority. 

"Stop being such an arsehole, Ron. Hermione is still my friend, and she is still yours too! You shouldn't be so mean for no reason!" I snapped at him, gesturing for Hermione to come stand behind the two boys with me. Ron's cheeks turned brick red, and he bit his lip.

My face dropped as Ron's eyes stared directly into the mine. He clenched his jaw and shook his head, walking ahead of us with Harry.

Hermione looked as if I just saved her from an emotional disaster, her and I stood together and pushed everyone through the Great Hall.

Ron side eyed me as we sat down, he was very angry at me for yelling at him. I knew deep down I wanted him to not be furious with me, so I could talk to him.

Ignoring Ron, I proceeded to talk to his brothers, Fred and George. I turned to them, and they were all laughing loudly at a joke Lee had made.

They told me to sit between the two, while Ron and I looked at each other weirdly, furrowed eyebrows and rolling of eyes. 

Lee began telling us a story of how he snuck a girl into the prefect's bathroom and his favorite person of all time, 'Minnie' , what he calls McGonagall, caught the girl and Lee half naked.

"And what she saw, wasn't a sight for any teacher of mine! She almost freaked out when she saw the girl's knickers off! Now that's a lesson for us, make sure to bring your special someone into the Prefects bathroom when it's at least 3 AM and use the Muffliato Charm!" He whispered to the group of us that bursted into a bubble of laughter. 

"Lee, you best be careful next time you dim," Fred laughed, shaking his head at his friend's stupidity. 

"Don't do the deed unless you're ready, Ri." George whispered in my ear, I giggled and nodded at him. 

"And if he forces you, let us know!" Fred jumped in, whispering to me. 

"Yes, yes." I giggled, swatting the two away from my ears. "Not anytime soon." I laughed, shaking my head at them. I caught Ron's eyes again, he bit his lip and shook his head. I paused for a second, looking at him.

Dumbledore soon dismissed us all from dinner, and I kicked off my seat to follow Ron, who was already out of the Great Hall. 

"Ron?" I said, running behind him who was clearly ignoring me. 

"Can you stop being mad at me? I don't know what I did?" I whispered, brushing a piece of hair behind my ear. 

"You were rude to me! You yelled at me for no reason! I have every right to be upset at Hermione and now, you!" He shouted, taking a deep breath and exhaled. 

"Now if you'll excuse me." Ron said, speeding off to Harry. I slapped my hand against my face, turning on my heel to walk to Uncle Remus' office. I swung the door open, crashing down into the chair. 

"Are you all right?" Uncle Remus asked, fixing his posture to look at me.

"Ron's mad at me!" I yelled, throwing my head back to see the ceiling. 

"What happened?" Remus chuckled, breaking a piece of chocolate I had got him. 

"He was basically being so irritable about Hermione and their whole dramatic fight! He was taking his anger out on Hermione and I yelled at him, and then he got mad at me for yelling at him," I sighed, throwing my hands up in the air and then letting them fall. 

"Maybe Ron wasn't expecting you to get angry at him for being rude to Hermione. To be fair, I reckon he thinks when he's with you, he feels the need to prove himself." Uncle Remus explained, as I lifted my head up and heaved myself properly back in the chair. 

"Do you think he'll come around?" I softly said, playing with my fingers. "He always does, doesn't he?" I nodded, biting my lip. 

"Should I-" Uncle Remus nodded, "Go fix it."

Kissing Uncle Remus' cheek, I ran up the marble staircase, and stumbled into the common room. There was Ron, all alone. His ginger head whipped to the sound of the slam from the portrait. His freckled face crinkled into a side smile, and I returned it. 

I walked to the couch, and awkwardly sat down next to him. "Um, have one with me?" He awkwardly said, holding a peppermint exploding bon bon in his hand. 

"Yeah." I exhaled, grabbing the bon bon and putting it in my mouth. The explosion of peppermint flew throughout my mouth as I chewed. It was brilliant, I giggled after swallowing and looked at Ron.

"I'm sorry for getting angry with you." He apologized, looking sincerely. "No worries, Ron. Swept under the rug." I said, messing up his ginger locks. He laughed, messing up my chocolate cherry curls.

The week after the term started, approached sooner than we thought, and the game of Ravenclaw versus Slytherin came. Slytherin won, though narrowly. "Good news for Gryffindor!" Oliver screamed at the team in the locker room, explaining how we would take second place if they beat Ravenclaw too. 

He then increased the number of team practices to five times a week, leaving Harry and I barely any time to hang out with Ron and Hermione during the week.

Every night of the week, Harry and I would come like sweaty pigs with the rest of the team, to Hermione sitting in the corner of the common room with several tables spread with books. Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes. 

As I tried to approach her to hang out, she would shoo me away, "Not now Rita, doing my homework. Later." she would say. I would lay down, spreading my whole body across the lofty couch and rant to Ron about Quidditch practices along with Harry.

Harry was rushing through Snape's essay, while Ron and I carried on about the terrible aches my body was feeling. 

" And then skidding across the field as soon as the Bludger hit me directly in the chest, they thought I was dead! Right, Harry?" I screamed, looking over to Harry who was dipping into his ink. He lifted his head and nodded his head, then continued back to his writing. 

"Blimey - Are you feeling all right?" Ron asked, sounding concerned. "Very much. But Ron! Next Quidditch practice, or whenever! Come watch us!" I said with bulging eyes at Ron. I love Quidditch, every time on the field, feels like everything is in my control. Ron nodded, opening his mouth to accept my offer, but Wood stepped in and broke our conversation.

"Bad news, Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She - er - got a bit shirty with me. Told me I've got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first." Wood shook his head in disbelief. I rolled my eyes at Wood, he clearly only cared about winning the Cup.

"Honestly, the way she was yelling at me... you'd think I said something terrible... Then I asked how much longer she was going to keep it..." He screwed his face and imitated Professor McGonagall's severe voice. 

" 'As long as necessary, Wood' ...I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There's an order form at the book of Which Broomstick... you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy and Rita's got." Wood said, looking at me with a grin. I rolled my eyes, scoffing at him. 

"I'm not buying anything Malfoy thinks is good," said Harry flatly. "Figures. Catch you at practice." Wood trailed off, saluting us goodbye.

"Harry! Soon before we know it, it'll be the day of Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw and you've got to use a bloody Shooting Star!" I shout, moving my body to sit properly on the couch. 

"I'm waiting for my Firebolt." Harry shouts, continuing his essay writing. 

"Bloody hell." I mouth, rolling my eyes and continuing my conversation with Ron. "Hopefully the Firebolt is jinx-free before the match." Ron whispered, sitting beside me. 

"Got to be." I shook my head.

And before we knew it, January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather.

During the weekends, Hermione and I would continue our look out for any information to help Buckbeak and Hagrid.

And, the match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, my excitement flew through the roof. I was jumping off the walls in all of my classes, muttering to anyone who would listen about my excitement. Dean and Seamus were just as excited as I was, buzzing to me about how we're going to crush the Ravenclaws.

And in every Transfiguration class, Harry, Ron and I would stay after the lesson waiting, for any news about the Firebolt. "No, Potter, you can't have it back yet," Professor McGonagall would say for the twelfth time this week, before Harry could open his mouth, "We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me." She shooed us out of her classroom. 

I dramatically sighed loud, slumping out of the classroom. "Harry, what if-" I began to say, but his finger was pressed against my lips. 

"Don't even" He hushed me, sighing loudly. I removed his finger and blinked awkwardly at both Harry and Ron. Ron was holding back his laughter behind Harry.

The three of us made our way to the common room, where Hermione was still hidden in her corner of darkness, filled with books of every kind. 

"Hermione," I peeped softly, tiptoeing to her. "Yes?" She hastitly said, not lifting her eyes up from the book. 

"Do you want me to help with anything?" I asked, trying to not make her yell at me. 

"No, no. It's all right. Thank you, though." She said sweetly, removing her eyes from her book which crinkled as she smiled at me. 

"All right, Mione. Do take a break and hang out with me in a few?" I ask, bouncing up and down on my heels. "Sure." Hermione said.

Harry soon went off to his dementor classes, while Ron and I stood in the common room while Mione was still dipping into her ink and writing file after file of notes. 

"I'm going to start a petition," I chewed on a piece of Drooble that Ron gave me. 

"What sort?" He asked. 

"Mistreatment to hippogriffs needs to be abolished. I'll call it, 'Hippogriffs are lovely organization' in other words, HALO. Just made it up." I said, looking up to him, blowing a big bubble. "HALO," Ron repeated, blowing a bigger bubble than I to one up me.

I popped his bubble, and he gasped extremely loud, which I laughed hysterically at his gasp. He popped my bubble, and it popped all over my face and hair. Ron and I began hysterically laughing at one another's faces with splattered pink sticky gum all over. 

"You look ridiculous!" I snickered, trying to get the gum out of my hair. "I have it in my hair!" Ron said, laughing. 

"Let's see if Uncle Remus can help us." I giggled, holding Ron's hand as we crawled through the portrait hole. As we stumbled out of the hole, we had another glimpse of each other's faces and burst into laughter.

We turned the corner, and there was Harry carrying the Firebolt in his hand with a great grin spread across his face. "She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow?" Ron giddily asked, smiling widely. 

Harry darted between us with a weird look on his face, "Droobles. We tried to one up one another with who can make the bigger bubble." I said as Harry said, "Ah..." Remembering Hermione, I looked at the two boys. 

"Remember our deal, Ronald? I think you both should talk to Mione now." I said, putting my hand on my hip and prodding a finger at the two boys' faces. 

"Yeah... she was only trying to help..." Harry said, looking happier than he had all month. "All right, she's in the common room, right now." Ron said, as we returned back to Gryffindor Tower and saw Neville, who was pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to refuse him from entering. 

"I wrote them down! But I must've dropped them somewhere!" Neville tearfully said. 

"A likely tale!" Sir Cadogan said, then meeting eyes with the three of us. 

"Good even, my fine young yeomen and yeowoman! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"

"Oh, shut up," snapped Ron as we drew level with Neville. His tears stopped as he saw my face, engulfing me into a hug. 

"I've lost the passwords! I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!" Neville teared up on my robes, while I patted his back.

"Don't worry, Neville. Harry's got us covered." I shushed him, while his tall self was crouching into my robes. "Oddsbodikins," said Harry, and Sir Cadogan, who looked extremely disappointed and reluctantly swung the portrait hole open.

There was a sudden murmur of excitement and every head turned, and in the blink of an eye, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt. Excusing myself from the huge crowd, I made my way to Hermione. She lifted her eyes up at me, snorting into her book. 

"You look like a unicorn heaved up on you." She said, pulling out her wand and pointed it at my face. The pink gum soon disappeared from my face and out of my hair. 

"The boys are finally going to make up with you." I said, gripping the chair that was in front of me. "Really?" she said, cheerfully. "Yeah. Oh here they come." I giggled, moving out of the way for the beaming faces of Ron and Harry.

Ron looked at me, pointing at me with his mouth open. "What?" he hissed, as Hermione whipped her wand again and took the pink gum off of his face.

"I got it back." Harry said, holding up the Firebolt with a huge grin. "See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it! Said Ron with a toothless smile. 

"Well - there might've been! I mean at least you know now that it's safe!" Hermione said with a grin. "And that's all thanks to Hermione." I chuckled, turning to her as we exchanged a wink.

"Yeah, I suppose so, I'd better put it up stairs -" Harry said, excusing himself, but Ron jumped up and gripped the Firebolt. 

"I'll take it! I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic." Ron said eagerly. He stuck his tongue out at me, holding the Firebolt as if it were made out of glass and ran up the boys' staircase.

I sat down in the chair, pulling out the one next to me for Harry. "Can I sit down, then?" Harry asked, looking at me and Hermione. "I suppose so, moving a huge stack of notes that covered the spot he would be sitting in. 

"How are you getting through all of this stuff? Harry asked, skimming all of his books and notes that I couldn't even bother to look at. "Oh, well - you know - working hard," said Hermione, who looked tired with dark eye bags under her eyes. 

"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" Harry asked. "I couldn't do that!" said Hermione, looking scandalized. "I've tried to tell her, but she hates the idea." I chimed in, yawning and eyeing the boys' staircase. 

"Arithmancy looks terrible," Harry added, looking at the ridiculously complicated number charts. "Mione's favorite." I muttered to Harry, rolling my eyes while Harry snickered. "Oh no, it's wonderful!" said Hermione earnestly, "It's my favorite subject-"

A sudden shriek echoed down the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell quiet, as the three of us watched the staircase, petrified. Did Ron find Sirius Black? Is he all right? Did he hurt himself? Then came hurried footsteps, growing louder and louder and then Ron leaping into view, dragging a bedsheet.

"LOOK! LOOK!" Ron bellowed, striding over to us, shaking the sheets in her face. "Ron, what -?" Hermione asked, horrified. "SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!" He bellowed again, his face was bright red. Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered. Harry and I took a peek at the bedsheet, there was something red on it. Something like - 

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence. "HE'S GONE! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N-no," Hermione trembled, trying to back away from Ron. Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translation. Harry, Hermione and I leaned forward. 

Lying on top of her pages were weird, spiky shapes were several long, ginger cat hairs. Ron took a deep breath, right before striding away into the crowd where everyone moved out of the way, and he left the common room. "Hermione, please don't cry." I suddenly said, as she hid her face into her Arithmancy book.

"No, Hermione." I said, jumping out of my seat and went to hug the hysterical girl. Harry also got up, hugging Hermione as well as her muffled cries filled the silent common room. 

"Upstairs. Harry, you're coming into our dorm." I ordered, heaving Hermione out of her chair while Harry gathered all of her books and notes in his arms. I opened the dorm, setting Hermione on my bed, while Harry stumbled behind me, placing all of the stuff into her wardrobe. 

She cried in her hands, while Harry and I sat on either side, hugging her and trying to be there for her. Harry and I obviously knew that the evidence pointed to Crookshanks eating Scabbers but I wouldn't admit it. The night grew longer while my best friend cried on my shoulder.


	10. heartfelt banter

Hermione refused to believe that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, resulting in his death. I had my suspicions, but didn't say a word about my opinions to either Hermione and Ron. Harry and I were trapped between our two friends' heated argument, I didn't know what to do. I felt trapped.

"Reckon it's the end of their friendship." Harry whispered to me while we walked down the stairs to the common room from my dorm. 

"Don't even want to think about it." I sighed, rolling my eyes as I noticed the Weasley siblings gathered in the common room. Greeting them all with a beam, I sat down next to Ron looking very upset.

We exchanged glances and I patted him on the shoulder to show that I was there for him. "Sorry." I whispered to him, his head fell onto my shoulder taking a deep breath. 

Wrapping my arm around him, his redhead brushed against my skin which tickled me, but I didn't mention it.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was," Fred said bracingly, clapping Ron's shoulder. "And he's been off-colour for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly - one swallow - he probably didn't feel a thing."

Ginny and I both stared Fred down, 

"Fred!" Ginny shouted indignantly. 

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself," added George, biting the side of his cheek. 

"He bit Goyle for us once! Remember Harry, Rita?" Ron said miserably, looking around at me and Harry. 

"Yeah, that's true," Harry said, "He did." I added. 

"His finest hour," Fred being unable to keep a straight face, was making George snicker quietly. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?" Fred shrugged and sank back into the couch, he was right but Ron didn't want to hear that right now. 

"How about you come to practice today? You can even fly on the Firebolt for as long as you'd like." Harry suggested, leaning to see his reaction.

Ron's face shot up from buried into my shoulders, and the frown swept off his face. "Great! Can I try and shoot a few goals on it?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. Harry and I nodded, delighted to see this could take Ron's mind off of Scabbers and set out to our Quidditch training.

Approaching the rowdy locker room, I ran inside and changed quickly into my scarlet robes, fixing myself in the mirror. 

Ron's watching, I needed to make sure I looked presentable. Fixing my hair into a tight ponytail, my bangs bounced out and rested on my temples, I took a deep breath and snatched my Nimbus two thousand and one and walked onto the field.

Ron stood beside Madam Hooch, smiling at me as I walked out on the pitch. My heart skipped a beat, and I tried to fix my hair with my hand, putting my broom under my arm. Angelina and Katie, who were beside me, started to coo at me and asked why all of a sudden I cared how I looked during practice.

"Special occasion?" Angelina teased, giggling alongside Katie. "Maybe it's 'cause of a ginger?" Katie added, nudging my arm. 

"No," I lied, blushing extremely hard as the two girls giggled to themselves. "Too cute." Angelina whispered to me, as we approached the rest of the team.

Madam Hooch eyed the Firebolt in Harry's hand, snatching it from him before we took off and gave us the personal benefit of her opinion. 

"Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail end - you often find they develop a drag after a few years. They've updated the handle too, a bit slimmer than the Cleansweeps, reminds me of the old Silver Arrows - a pity they stopped making them. I learned to fly on one, and a very fine old broom it was too..." She said, studying the Firebolt and tracing the broom with the tip of her fingers. 

"Er - Madam Hooch? Is it okay if Harry has the Firebolt back? We need to practice..." Wood said hesitantly. "Oh - right - here you are, then, Potter, I'll sit over with Weasley..." Madam Hooch said, walking over to the stadium.

I turned my back to walk with the rest of the team, but a hand tugged me back. "Cheering you on," Ron beamed, looking me down with a twinkle in his eyes. It felt like time had stopped, his hand on mine, the sun setting and shining a golden light that flew directly on his face. 

I was sure the sun was shining at me too, illuminating my face just as it was with Ron's. My heart skipped a beat, "Yeah, I'll be sure to play twice as hard." I giggled awkwardly, swaying a bit back and forth giddily. 

"Vixen! Stop talking to Weasley and get your arse over here!" Wood screamed from across the pitch. Ron and I stifled a laugh, I waved and turned to the group.

"Now tell us all about that little sneaky interaction?" Angelina whispered into my ear, seemingly like she was invested in our little banter. "He wished me good luck." I quietly whispered, watching Wood pace in a circle and giving out instructions. "Privately," She whispered, wiggling her eyebrows in my face. 

"It was just a friendly good luck, don't flood my mind with thoughts, Ang." I whispered back as Wood approached the group again. "I'm interested," She replied as Wood clapped his hands together and caused everyone to jump. " Okay, everyone, let's go-" He shouted, waving his hand to signal us to mount our brooms. I mounted my Nimbus, and kicked off the ground as my hair blew into the wind.

I felt a sudden rush of excitement scream through my body, zooming around the field and throwing the Quaffles into the goal. The Firebolt moved exceptionally, his broom turned so sharply that I screamed. 

Wood screamed, letting the Snitch out that zoomed across the pitch. I blasted through the wind, as either one of the twins batted a Bludger that had me advancing on me. And within ten seconds, Harry had flown through the air so elegantly, outstripping the Snitch and caught it tightly in his hand. 

I threw my hands up in the air, cheering for my best friend who caught the Snitch in a matter of seconds which ups our chances for the tournament. Letting the Snitch out again, I threw the Quaffle in my hand to Katie who threw it into the goal. Harry soon flew down into Katie's legs and snatched the Snitch again.

It was one of the best practices ever; we were so inspired by the presence of the Firebolt, and maybe because someone was watching, performing the best moves faultlessly. We hit the ground, and George whispered to me, "Unbelievable! Wood doesn't have a single criticism to make! That's a first." I nodded, agreeing with him as Wood's face lit up with glee. 

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow! Not unless - Harry, you've sorted out your dementor problem, haven't you?" He asks, looking at Harry, who nodded erratically. "Yeah." he replied. 

"The dementors won't turn up again, Oliver, Dumbledore'd go ballistic," said Fred confidently. "Well, let's hope not. Anyway - good work, everyone. Let's get back to the tower... turn in early -" Wood added, but Harry stopped him short. 

"We're staying out a bit." Harry pointed me and him out, " Ron wants a go on the Firebolt," Angelina and Katie's faces shot towards my brick-red face, bulging eyes at me and winking at me. I rolled my eyes as I waved the team goodbye, and strode over to Ron with Harry.

He vaulted the barrier in the stands, and came to meet us while Madam Hooch fell asleep in her seat. "That was brilliant!" Ron ecstatically said, darting between Harry and I. I giggled, watching him with his jaw hung like he was catching flies. 

"Here you go," Harry handed Ron the Firebolt, an expression of ecstasy that was all over his face and mounted the broom. He zoomed off into the gathering darkness while Harry and I watched excitedly from around the edge of the pitch.

Ron's face was full of joy as he zoomed all over the pitch, as we cheered loudly for him. Night had fallen before Madam Hooch awoke with a start, insisting us from the stadium and ordered us to go back to the castle. 

Harry shouldered the Firebolt, and we walked out of the shadowy stadium, discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, its phenomenal acceleration, and its pinpoint turning.

Halfway through the castle, Harry glanced over to his left, stopping dead in his tracks. "What's the matter?" asked Ron, hurrying over to his side. "You all right?" I questioned, slowly walking to Harry's shoulder.

Harry just pointed, as Ron pulled out his wand and shouted "Lumos!" A beam of light fell across the grass, hit the bottom of a tree, and illuminated its branches; there was something crouching among the budding leaves, was Crookshanks. 

"Get out of here!" Ron roared, stooping down and seized a stone lying on the grass, but before he could do anything else, Crookshanks had vanished with one swish of his ginger tail.

As Ron turned to Harry, a gray fluff jumped down from the tree. Soupy, bright blue eyes flashed towards me with a meow as she followed Crookshank's ginger fluff. I awkwardly turned back to the boys, as Ron's face was full of grimace. 

He was obviously upset over the sight of the cat, while he spat to Harry and I about how vicious Crookshanks was and how he should be more like my cat. Little did he know, I nodded and let Ron rant throughout the walk to the well-lit entrance hall.

Hugging the boys' goodbye, I walked through the door of my dorm and Hermione's head shot up. Her hair was full of frizz, her face had even darker spots than she did the day before. Her bed was scattered with papers, bookmarks and books spread all over. She looked ill, she mustn't have not got any sleep.

"Mione?" I said, shutting the door behind me and tossing my robes off onto my bed. "Yes?" She replied with a crack in her voice. I walked over to her bed, moving the scattered piles of parchment to the side and sat down beside her. 

"All right?" I asked, scanning the books of Hippogriffs that were colour coordinated with notes. 

"Of course! What made you think I'm not?" She awkwardly laughed, knowing she looked like a zombie. "How about this, I'll go look in these books and bookmark everything. You take a well-deserved break." I ordered, glaring at her. She took a deep sigh of relief, nodding and organized the papers, books and handed them over to me. I turned to my bed, placing them on the end table on my bed.

Turning back around, Hermione was already passed out on her bed and snoring softly. Snickering to myself, I walked to her bed, placing her blanket over her. She works too hard, she needs a break. 

I went back into my bed and gave myself a well-deserved break from Quidditch. Tomorrow was game day, it made my heart skip a beat. Everyone was in high spirits since Harry received his Firebolt back. It must be fate that we win tomorrow, at least I hope so.

Throwing on my red and yellow striped sweater, and my trousers to match and the socks that Ginny made me. I yawned loudly, creeping to the bathroom. I changed quickly, throwing my pyjamas off me and fixed my hair into a cute ponytail. 

Why did I care so much if I look pleasant, I thought to myself. Didn't matter too much to me right now, I needed to hurry down to breakfast. Carrying my pyjamas to the basket, I ran out of the bathroom and all the Gryffindor girls were outside the door, smiling at me.

"Heard about the Firebolt!" Lavender Brown shrieked excitedly, throwing her hands around my neck. "Good luck today, Riri!" She squealed, squeezing my neck. I awkwardly patted her back, giggling, and she let go. Parvati threw her hands around me, bombarding me with cheers and laughter. "

You're going to do brilliant." Parvati said, before letting go. "Thank you both," I awkwardly thanked them, tossing off my slippers and putting on my uniform boots. I grabbed my broom, took a look at the girls who seemed to already be dressed with signs that had "GO! GRYFFINDOR! GO!" Hermione however was beside me, I shrugged and walked down the stairs to the common room. 

The whole third year girl dormitory followed behind me to the Great hall, where I found the rest of the boys on the team.

Everyone was muttering excitedly as I walked down the walkway to my House table, murmuring about the Firebolt. I giddily walked with my head held high. Wood's shaved head jolted back, seeing me walk confidently, pulled me into their circle. I sat down between Harry and Ron, who both had an even bigger head than I did. 

"Did you see his face?" asked Ron gleefully who was sitting relaxed beside me, turning his head back to see Malfoy's face again. "He can't believe it! This is brilliant!" I whipped my head to see Malfoy's face, his nose was scrunched along with his eyebrows, like he just got a waff of some shit. Laughing directly in his face, his nose scrunched up even more.

Turning back, I laughed with Ron at Malfoy's disgusted look on his face. "Put it here, Harry," Wood said, laying Harry's broom in the middle of the table and carefully turning it so its name faced upward. People from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were soon at our table, leaning down on each of us to catch a glimpse of the broomstick. Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff was leaning down on me, "Sorry, Hello, Rita." He smiled, trying to budge out of my way. 

"Hi, Cedric, No worries." I grinned up at him, watching more people approach our table. While Cedric congratulated Harry on acquiring such a superb replacement for his Nimbus. Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend Penelope Clearwater and a Ravenclaw fifth year named Roger Davies also scattered around to see. 

"Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!" Percy said heartily, staring up at his curly haired girlfriend who looked shocked at her boyfriend. She scoffed, while Percy leaned closer onto the table. "

Penelope and I have got a bet on, ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!" Penelope put the Firebolt down again, thanked Harry and went back to her table. Roger Davies took one last look, he was incredibly handsome too. 

He flashed a smile at the team and strode off behind Penelope. "Harry - make sure you win," Percy said in an urgent whisper, "I haven't got ten Galleons. Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" and he bustled off to join Penny for breakfast.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice. I noticed that voice, it was no one other than Draco Malfoy. I rolled my eyes, scoffing loudly as they leaned down for a closer look. "Yeah, reckon so," Harry casually said. Draco's arms were around me, as he smiled as if he were trying to seduce me. 

"Off me, Draco. You're getting too ballsy with yourself." I hissed, pushing his big head away from mine. Ron and Harry both clenched their jaws, watching Draco laugh with his friends after he had just tried to seduce me, while my body tensed up between them.

I wanted to turn around and punch Draco directly into the nose but I'll let Harry handle him. Can't speak my mind always. "Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute - in case you get too near a dementor." Draco said, his eyes glittering maliciously while his two troll friends belly laughed behind him.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to yours, Malfoy, then it could catch the Snitch for you" Harry said, looking Malfoy up and down then shrugging. The whole Gryffindor team laughed loudly, Harry got him good. Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed, then he stalked away. Watching him rejoin the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, no doubt asking Draco if it was a real-life Firebolt.

"Stupid Malfoy," Harry spat, shaking his head. "He shouldn't have laid his hands on you." Ron muttered under his breath, taking looks at Malfoy. I, however, sat between them and ate my toast awkwardly. 

"Next time fucking Malfoy touches you, Ri, he's going to get the daylight knocked out of him." Fred shouted from across the table, banging his fork on the table and looking to see if Draco made another peep. 

"Lucky him that we have a game." snarled George, aggressively chewing his food next to Fred. I darted between the four boys who were aggressively taking double glances at Malfoy, and clenching their jaws viciously.

Ron and Harry scooted closer to me, making sure there was not any room for anyone else. I hadn't felt more protected since ever. Ron kept taking looks at me, while crumbs fell from his mouth. "Don't let Malfoy bother you," Wood said, clapping his hand on my shoulder. "Focus that built up anger into Quidditch, okay? You'll be all right." Oliver smiled at me, I returned it. 

"I'm fine. Just feel awkward that he tried to do that," I silently said, staring down and playing with the food on my plate. The boys all blanklessly looked at me, not saying a word.

Ron placed his hand onto the mine, squeezing it a bit. I redirected my eyes onto his freckled face, where his eyes crinkled as his angled smile made my heart flutter. 

"He won't even try to do again, and if he does - well - he'll have many injuries and spend endless nights in the infirmary." Ron assured me, rubbing his thumb on my hand. "I'm sure of it." I replied, giggling while a blush creeped up my cheeks.

At a quarter to eleven, Wood guided the whole team out to the pitch and into the lonely locker room. The weather was extremely beautiful, it was way different from our first match with Hufflepuff, the cool breeze filled the room as I changed into my scarlet robe. 

Feeling excitement to me that only Quidditch matches could bring, I opened to the mirror in my locker, and saw my reflection. My striking burgundy hair pinned back in a ponytail, my earrings dangling on my ears, the necklace Ron made me, the necklace Mum and Dad gave me all rested delicately on my heart. The one Mum and Dad gave me, sparkled a little.

I looked down at the glowing crystal on my chest, beaming at the beautiful necklace. Looking back into the mirror, words were now writing out onto my reflection. 

"Give it your all today, love. Mummy and Daddy know you're the best. Xoxo Mum and Dad." A huge smile grew on my face, it makes me happy that my parents actually read my letters. The screaming from the crowd increased, snapping me out of my daze.

Wood threw his hand up in the hair, shouting a few noises I couldn't make out to actual words, and we all gathered in a huddle.

"You know what we've got to do, if we lose this match, we're out of the running. Just - just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!" Wood stammered, a drip of sweat had fallen down the side of his face. We all nodded in agreement, and Wood confidently guided us out onto the field.

Tumultuous applause filled the entire stadium as our flashy scarlets robes filled the area. The Ravenclaw soon followed, with another round of uproarious applause. Standing beside me was Harry, who had seemed to be eyeing the beautiful Seeker, Cho Chang. I had spoken to Cho Chang at least once before, she was extremely nice and a pretentious girl. 

Harry and her shared a smile, I nudged his shoulder with a grin. He blushed, rubbing his arm I had hit, and he shook himself out of his daze. Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw captain, stood beside Cho, looking absolutely confident. He flashed his bright smile at me, winking at me while my face began to feel hot. 

"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch ordered briskly, the two captains approached the middle and shook hands with a nice grip. 

"Mount your brooms... on my whistle... three - two - one-" Madam Hooch blew viciously into the whistle which caused a sudden shriek.

Kicking off the ground, I soared around the pitch with a strong breeze that flew above me. Harry's Firebolt, we were going to be unstoppable today. "They're off, the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship-" blared Lee through the booming speakers around the pitch. 

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" interrupted McGonagall's voice which made me giggle as I flew through the air. 

"Right you are, Professor - just giving a bit of background information - the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and -" added Lee, as McGonagall shouted "Jordan!"

Katie Bell flew past me and Angelina with the Quaffle in her arm, heading towards the goal. "Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor heading for goal..." Lee's voice trailed as Katie made the first goal of the game. 

Clapping Katie's hand as she skidded to where Angelina and I were, Fred came out of nowhere and whoosed a Bludger that had been inches away from my head. 

"Show her your acceleration, Harry!" yelled Fred, as the Bludger, flew to the other side of the pitch. The Gryffindor side went wild, for both Fred and Katie. Angelina managed to grab the Quaffle, throwing it over to me.

I zoomed through the pitch, while the Gryffindor supporters cheered my name loudly. Roger Davies, who was staring at me, flashed his smile again at me. Almost veering off course, I took a deep breath and threw a successful Quaffle into the goal. "And another ten points to Gryffindor from no one other than Rita Vixen!" screamed my friend Lee, who had been shouting excitedly into the mic. 

Angelina got another goal for us, while the Gryffindor supporters went wild in the stands. As the three of us threw around the Quaffle, Bludgers from Ravenclaw advanced on each of us, but the twins had smacked the ball back to the Ravenclaw Chasers. 

Noticing Harry had been almost millimeters away from the Snitch, a Bludger came pelting out of nowhere and veered Harry off course, and losing the Snitch. A great "Oooooh." was heard from the Gryffindor side while cheers for the Ravenclaw Beater increased.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn - Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision-balance is really noticeable in these long-" Lee happily said in the speakers but quickly got cut off by McGonagall's loud, echoing shout.

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!" These yells boomed through the pitch, leaving most of us thunderstruck. Fred had struck a Bludger at Roger Davies, missing, but he scored the first point for Ravenclaw. 

The cheers from the Ravenclaw grew louder while Gryffindor supporters shouted in encouragement that we are still in the race. Angelina passed me the Quaffle, as I tried to zoom through the Ravenclaw Beaters, but a Bludger hit my arm, knocking the Quaffle into Roger's arms.

He threw it into the goal, sucking his teeth at me and threw me the Quaffle. I flung it over to Katie, but before she could reach it another Chaser had grabbed it and scored another 10 points for Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw was pulling back; we're now 50 points ahead - but if Cho had got the Snitch before Harry, Ravenclaw would win. 

"GET THAT DAMN SNITCH!" I screamed to Harry, soaring around him on my broom. Harry stooped down low, accelerating many feet below us, and he was gaining on the Snitch. I threw the Quaffle into the goal while the crowd roared again, with a bunch of Gryffindors screaming on the top of their lungs. 

"Oh!" screamed Cho, which redirected my eyesight down to where both Harry, and she were.

Three dementors, three tall, black, hooded dementors, looking up at Harry. "NO!" screamed Katie, but before we could stop Harry; a silver veil sprouted from his wand as he screamed, 

"Expecto Patronum!" The three dementors fell back, and I took a deep sigh of relief. Katie had the Quaffle in her hand, throwing it over to Angelina who scored another 10 points for Gryffindor.

Right as Angelina had scored the last goal for Gryffindor, Harry was on the floor with the golden Snitch clambering in the palm of his hand. Madam Hooch whistle sounded, calling it a Gryffindor win. We all cheered, soaring down to Harry and bombarding him with a great group hug.

"That's my boy!" screamed Wood, as Katie and Angelina both kissed Harry out of pure enjoyment. I grabbed Harry's cheek, kissing it out of excitement. Harry had been squeezed into Fred's arms, and we all flew down onto the ground.

Getting off our brooms, we looked up and saw a sprinting crowd with Ron in the lead. And in the blink of an eye, we all got engulfed into the cheering crowd.

"Yea!" Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm in the air, "Yea! Yea!" Percy was even in high spirits, "Well done, Harry!" thanked Percy with delight. "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope, excuse me -" I felt a tug on my arm causing me to turn around, and there was Hermione, with a twinkle in her eye. 

"Congratulations!" She squealed, throwing her arms around my neck and jumping on me. "Did you see me? See me zooming and scoring goals!" I squealed back, squeezing her even tighter. "You did an extraordinary job!" She said, cheering for me as Uncle Remus's shadow was right behind Hermione.

"You were brilliant, Rita Pita." Uncle Remus excitedly said, pushing some of the cheering crowd away. Hermione let go of me, and backed away. 

"I never seen anything like that, you accelerated fast, so smoothly." Remus congratulated me, hugging me and excusing himself to approach Harry. The crowd roared loudly with every turn I took, but a sudden voice felt as it was way louder than the crowd's.

"Brilliant, Rita. You were always such a superb Chaser." he said, his freckled smile lines grew wider and wider with every word he said. "Means a bunch coming from you, Ronnie." I giggled, as my face turned even redder than it was from all the sweat.

Out of the corner of my eye, I peeked over the crowd to see Uncle Remus and Harry standing out from the ruddy crowd, out to the edge. Ron and I beat out of our ways to get to Harry's side.

There, in a crumpled heap on the ground were Mafloy, Crabbe, Goyle and Marcus Flint getting reprimanded by Professor McGonagall. The three of us tripled our laughter, watching Malfoy try to extricate himself out from the robe, and Goyle's head still stuck in the hood.

Fighting his way through the crowd, George clapped Harry's shoulders, "Come on, guys! Party! Gryffindor common room, now!" The three of us followed the tall, lanky ginger through the crowd, while our group soon extended with the rest of the team and the Gryffindors all traveling behind George to attend the party.

Still, in our scarlet robes, we set off to the castle while Harry and Ron were walking beside me with giant grins on their faces. "Hadn't been this happy in a while." admitted Harry, who nodded and took a deep sigh. "You earned it." I reassured him, squeezing his arm. "Brilliant job. Both of you." Ron added, winking at the two of us.

It felt like we already had won the Quidditch Cup; the music blasted throughout the little radio in the common room and everyone in Gryffindor were gathered in the common room to celebrate a fantastic win. Fred and George had snuck away for a few hours, leaving the rest of us at the party.

Angelina and Katie had snuck me away from the third years, bringing me to their group of fifth years. Lee, who had the cheekiest smile on his face, wrapped his arms around me and screamed into my ear. "Brilliant! Fantastic! Show-stopping!" Lee shouted in my ear, squeezing me tightly like my head was about to topple off. 

The girls all giggled behind me, while Lee hugged me and spun me around like a hula hoop. Lee and I aren't that close, but recently he's been one of the people I've spoken to every day. "Lee! Please!" I coughed, he let go on me, fixing my hair and bopping my nose. I laughed at him, while the two of us bursted into laughter at the sudden interaction.

"How's the ginger?" asked Angelina, pulling me over to the side. "Which one?" I awkwardly asked, knowing the answer she wanted but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction. "Stop it, you know exactly who I'm referring to." She giggled, rolling her eyes at me. "All right, we hadn't got a chance to talk." I awkwardly added, wishing I hadn't opened my mouth about the last part. 

"Excuse me, Rita Vixen? Are you worried about not conversing with him?" asked Angelina, who looked around to make sure there were no Peeping Toms. "Ang! No! I was just answering your question. Now I could ask you the same thing with a certain ginger." I wiggled my eyebrows, she knew exactly who I was talking about. 

"Behave! We're just friends-" She abruptly stopped, and bit her lip. "Same with me and a certain ginger-" I said right before we got interrupted by a loud slam against the wall.

Fred and George with armfuls of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets. Angelina and I dashed to the twins, wanting a bottle of butterbeer. 

"How'd you do that?" squealed Angelina at George while he threw Peppermint Toads into the crowd. With a tug, I was pulled to the edge of the room, with a certain ginger.

"One for you, one for me." He said, putting the Peppermint Toad into my hand and ripped open the package for his. "My fav-" I said, but he finished my sentence, "Your favorite." he beamed, popping the toad into his mouth. "Soon, we should borrow the map from Harry and go to Hogsmeade ourselves," said Ron, who stood in front of me, swallowing his sweet. 

"Just you and I?" I awkwardly asked, my heart slammed against my ribs, feeling as if it were to jump out of my chest. "And Harry," He quickly added, the tips of his ears turning bright red, itching the back of his neck. My heartbeat resumed to its normal state, was I going crazy? 

"Yeah, yeah. Of course, that'll be great." I said, a tiny bit devastated. Harry was a foot away from us, trying to bring Hermione into a partying mood. I moved off from the wall, slipping to beside Harry with Ron a few inches behind me. "He doesn't want me to join in..." Hermione said, glancing over to Ron.

"Stay with me then!" I whispered, extending my arm out to Hermione, but she shook her head. 

"If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them-" Ron said loudly, behind Harry and I as we whipped our heads to see Ron with a package of it and scooping it into his mouth.

Turning back to Hermione, her tears filled her eyes and tucked the enormous book under her arm, running towards the girl's dormitory and out of sight. "Why do you have to make her cry!" I huffed, turning to Ron and rolled my eyes at him. His face was filled with Fudge Flies, he tried to stuff even more in his mouth. "Can't you give her a break?" asked Harry, quietly. 

"No, if she just acted like she was sorry - but she'll never admit she's wrong, Hermione. She's still acting like Scabbers had gone on vacation or something." Ron flatly said, shrugging at the two of us. Harry and I looked at Ron, then shared a look with rolling eyes. 

"I'm going to fetch myself a well-deserved butterbeer." I shuddered, leaving the two boys with a whip of my hair over my shoulder.

"Ah! Look who it is!" Fred cackled, juggling butterbeer bottles with George. "How's the party treating you?" asked George, catching the butterbeer bottles, and placed them back neatly on the table he had been standing on. 

"Butterbeer." I silently said, cracking open one and sipping it. Butterbeer always switched my mood, making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

My mind echoed with thoughts, why did everything I do have to somehow end up dealing with Ron? Lost for words, I looked at the two twins who were throwing more sweets to the huge crowd of people. I leaned on the table they were standing on, watching the people all gracefully accept the sweets they were throwing.

Another swing of the portrait hole, there was Professor McGonagall in her tartan dressing gown and hair net. 

"It's one in the morning and you lot are acting like hooligans, screaming and laughing on the top of your lungs! I insist you all head off to bed, resume tomorrow." McGonagall shouted, watching everyone quietly murmur to their friends and approaching the staircase. 

"Night Georgie, night Freddie." I said, hugging both of them with a beam. I turned on my heel, walking to the staircase and setting off to bed. Ron and Harry were at the foot of the staircase, looking at me awkwardly. 

"Night Harry, night Ron." I yawned, hugging both Ron and Harry, and began to climb up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.

There was Hermione, cooped up in her, that was right across from mine, skimming the yellow pages of a huge book. Sitting down beside her, my eyes followed the bookmarked yellow pages that she traced with the tip of her finger.

She lifted her eyes off the book, throwing it onto her end table, and rested her head on my shoulder. We didn't say a word, she rested her head on my shoulder and sobbed into my shoulder.

I wrapped my arm around her, rubbing her arm and shushing her, "It's going to be fine." I repeatedly said.

Taking a hot shower and changing into my night dress, with slippers and magically dried my hair, I yawned and flopped onto my bed. 

As soon as I shut my eyes to imagine me riding on a unicorn, a muffled scream of absolute fear echoed throughout the room. I hit my head repeatedly with my pillow, finally taking a deep breath and made my way along with a few other girls to the common room.

As I groggily rubbed my eyes, I saw a line from the staircase to a frightened Ron, Harry and an angry Percy. Excusing myself, I stepped onto the ground and leaned onto the banister to see what the ruckus was all about.

"Excellent! Are we carrying on?" asked a wide awake Fred, who rustled my hair with his large palm. 

"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy exclaimed, hurrying into the common room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pyjamas. 

"Perce - Sirius Black! In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!" said Ron faintly, his eyes were bulging and his mouth twitched with fear. Fred and I exchanged a look of pure fear. "Nonsense!" Said Percy, looking startled. 

"You had too much to eat, Ron - had a nightmare -" Percy tried to resonate the weird occurrence with a common diagnosis.

"I'm telling you-" Ron faintly said. 

"Now, really, enough's enough!" Professor McGonagall was back, she slammed the portrait behind her and entered the common room, staring furiously around. 

"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you", McGonagall shook her head, staring at the tired kids that were scattered into the room. 

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" Percy said, puffing himself indignantly. "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare -" Ron's face was brick-red now.

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE! PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!" Ron roared, taking deep breaths while Professor McGonagall just stared at him. 

"Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?" Ron lifted up his shaking arm, pointing right at Sir Cadogan. 

"Ask him! Ask him if he saw-" Glaring suspicious of Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait hole back open, while the whole common room listened with bated breath.

I quickly rushed to Ron's side, throwing my arms around him. "I'm sorry," I whimpered into his chest, pulling him closer and closer. I hugged him, crying into his chest in front of everyone. 

"I'm sorry nobody believes you, but I do." I sniffled, looking up at him. He didn't say a word, just pulled me in closer. The two of us, wrapped in each other's embrace, was so calming; made me believe I was all right.

Professor McGonagall pulled herself through the portrait hole, facing us and the stunned crowd. She was as white as chalk. 

"Which person," she said as her voice shook, "which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?" There was utter silence, McGonagall was too busy searching for who it seemed to be Neville, whose only noise was the terrified small squeaks. 

Neville, trembling from head to fluffy-slippered toe; raised his hand slowly in the air.


	11. the good days and the bad days

Neville's hand rose up, trembling rapidly while the whole common room watched him, shutting his eyes, so he couldn't see McGonagall's pale, white face. 

"Heavens, of course, Longbottom. Please wake everyone up from their slumber, everyone will be staying in the common room until further notice." She spoke with a raised tone, eyeing the woken students with a not so keen look.

Ron's arm gripped tighter around my body, like he didn't want to let go of me. His ruffled ginger hair stuffed onto my shoulder, his heart beating so fast that I felt it against my chest. 

"Vixen. Weasley, can you stop with the huge-me-tight grip and wake up the rest of your peers?" McGonagall sternly said, glaring down at us. 

With that and the blush forming around my cheeks, I released myself from Ron's arms and raced up the stairs to wake up the whole girls' dormitory.

Swinging the door open and booming a loud smack against the wall caused everyone to jump out of their beds with a sudden fright. 

"Wake up! Sirius Black was in the boys' dormitories just a second ago! We're sleeping in the common room." I announced to all of the girls. Hermione jumped out of her bed, running across the room to me. 

The girls all slowly rose out of bed, while Hermione and I joined the large, frantic crowd in the common room. 

"What happened?" Hermione whispered, turning her head to see all the frightened faces around the room. "Sirius Black was standing over Ron while he slept, Black slashed his curtains and held the knife over him." I whispered, pushing through the crowd to get a spot for us to stay. 

"Ron?" She asked awkwardly, while I nodded.

I grabbed Hermione's arm, dashing through the people to find an empty corner where we could stay. Right behind the shelves of old books, was a corner that was deserted. Leaning on the wall, I slid down the wall and sat down with my legs crossed. 

"He's all right now?" Hermione asked worriedly, even though Ron and her had gotten into a terrible fight, they still were best friends. 

"He's all right. He's got Harry," Resting my head against the wall and lifting my eyes up to the ceiling of the common room, my mind raced with erratic thoughts about Sirius Black and his antics. 

Hermione passed out, her head lying on my shoulder while she snored soundly without anyone making noise to wake her up. Professor McGonagall soon came back around at dawn, alerting us that he escaped yet again.

Rubbing my eyes harshly, I blinked rapidly trying to figure out where I was. To my left, Hermione's snores boomed into my ear, and to my right there was the common room filled with students who were departing to the dormitories. 

I yawned loudly, gently shaking Hermione's shoulder to wake her up. "Yes?" She snored, waking her up out of her slumber. "I snore?" she gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. 

"Sound sleeper." I lied, yawning and stretching my arms up in the air. "Come on, upstairs." Hermione said, getting up on her feet and extending an arm for me. 

"Kind heart." I joked, clapping her hand as she pulled me up to my feet. The two of us walked up the stairs groggily, passing out the second we hit our four-posters.

Rolling out of bed, I forced myself up early to rejuvenate my thoughts from the eventful day I had yesterday. Soupy followed me to the bathroom, jumping onto the counter and curled up into a ball.

I dressed into my uniform quickly, and jumped onto the counter to get my contacts in my eyes. As the months went by since I got my contacts, they started to consume less and less time to get them into my eyes. 

Blinking my contacts in, I scooped some of my hair cream into my palm and fixed my curly burgundy locks. Scrunching my hair all over, my curly hair settled directly onto my shoulders, I took a look at myself into the mirror. My hair was middle parted with loose mahogany curls flowing down like an elegant waterfall. 

Topping off my look, I clipped a pearl barrette near the side of my temple, just because. I bounced off the counter, grabbing Soupy along and ran to the dorm.

Hermione was up out of bed, slipping on her maryjanes and flashed a smile at me. Soupy jumped out of my arms and greeted Crookshanks with a head boop good morning. 

It was seconds before breakfast started, so I grabbed my robe from the hanger and maryjanes, and Hermione and I made our way down to breakfast.

Throughout the day, everywhere I went was signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. 

Sir Cadogan had been fired and his portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and the Fat Lady was back. She had been expertly restored, but still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. 

A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the sizes of their clubs.

"I can't help but noticing the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor remaining unguarded and unblocked." Harry mumbled, his eyes wandering around the room to make sure nobody was listening.

The statue of the one-eyed witch was how Harry had gotten to Honeydukes the last time we were at Hogsmeade.

"D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Harry asked, he twitched his leg up and down trying to contain his nerves. "We know he's not coming in through Honeydukes, we'd've heard of the shop had been broken into." Ron said dismissively, he didn't seem to think much of it. 

"Honeydukes would've been shut down and there would be no more trips to Hogsmeade, no way he's coming in through there." I added, trying to ease Harry's thoughts. He took a deep breath, his leg had stopped twitching now.

A group of second year girls all circled around the three of us, all murmuring beside one another and beating their eyes at Ron. Ron had become an instant celebrity, for the first time everyone had been paying attention to Ron and there was no doubt he wasn't enjoying the experience.

He was still shaken up over last night's events, jumping at every sudden movement that had been made, but he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened with a wealth of detail.

A second year girl, all giddy, squatted down at the foot of the couch we were sitting on, had opened her mouth with the highest pitched voice, "We heard what happened, do you mind telling us the truth?"

Rolling my eyes annoyedly, I rested my elbow on the arm of the couch, my chin onto my hand and loafed off into the fire while Ron went on to the second year girls who had just taken an interest into him. 

It annoyed me in my soul that these little girls only showed interest when the most life-threatening thing that could have happened to him happened. 

I shouldn't be jealous, Ron loved the attention he was getting from everyone, but just not from annoying little girls who took interest in him.

"Why, though?" Ron said, shaking my arm and snapping me out of my daze. "Why did he run?" he asked Harry and I, looking severely puzzled. 

The idea slipped my mind a bit, why did Black run from Ron? Why didn't he do what he wanted, killing Harry and escaping through the window, shortly after. Black proved that he was a mass murderer twelve years ago, killing twelve innocent people, and this time he was facing five unarmed boys, four of whom were asleep. Of course, I'm extremely grateful that my best friends are all right, but Black had the chance. Why didn't he take it?

"He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle once you'd yelled and woken people up, he'd've had to kill the whole House to get back through the portrait hole... then he would've met the teachers..." Harry said thoughtfully, he was also shaken up over the Black being in his room, but he was too curious about it as well as I. 

"Your scream was awfully loud, I wanted to murder myself when I heard it. Just had closed my eyes, then your scream blared through the House." I added jokingly, rolling my eyes at Ron, who was flustered. 

"Piss off." Ron muttered, shoving my arm away from his. Harry and I giggled softly at my joke, while Ron rolled his eyes deeply between us.

Neville was also in total despair from last night's incident, he was in disgrace. Professor McGonagall was terribly furious with him, she banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbade any of us to give him the password into the tower. 

Poor Neville was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. Yet none of these punishments came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him.

Soon later, Hermione made our usual round for Hagrid's, he came to collect us from the entrance hall and down the grassy hill to his hut. Hermione and I settled a new set of books along the table and settled into the scrubbed chairs, while Buckbeak ran up to the table and greeted us with a head rub. 

"How's it been, Hermione? With the boys?" Hagrid asked, looking at me with a worried look. Hermione again broke out into tears, and I heaved my arm over her shoulders while she cried. 

"Another fight, Hagrid." I sighed, rubbing Hermione's shoulder, trying to help my friend. Hagrid's mouth narrowed, his eyebrows scrunched while I shrugged. 

"What'd happ'n'd?" He asked, pouring a mug of tea for Hermione and I.

"After Harry got his Firebolt back, Ron went to the boys' dormitory to give Scabbers his rat tonic, but when he got upstairs he didn't find Scabbers, he found a patch of blood and a pile of ginger cat hair on a bed sheet. He screamed, bringing it down to the common room, bellowing out in front of everyone in the common room." I explained, accepting the mug and taking a gulp of tea. 

Hagrid's expression seemed he was disappointed in the boys, given Hermione's wails, he didn't want to mention anything else.

While Hermione bookmarked pages, Hagrid and I went outside to play fetch with Buckbeak. I found a tree branch, throwing it across the lawn as Buckbeak galloped to catch the branch. 

"Very dis'ppo'nting. The boys," Hagrid shook his head, while Buckbeak dropped the tree branch at his feet. "I know, I feel terrible about Mione. She's been incredibly stressed and the boys fighting with her weren't helping." I muttered, watching Buckbeak gallop back to us with a loud thud at my feet. I threw the branch, and there went Buckbeak again. 

"Supp'se I say a word or two ter them? Write 'em a letter ter visit me and I'll bring some clar'ty to their ruddy heads." Hagrid suggested. That would be perfect, Hagrid saying something to the boys will make them rethink everything, I thought to myself. "Yes! Hagrid's that perfect."

It was two days since Black's break-in, the four of us, even though Ron still wasn't speaking to Hermione, sat down at the Great Hall. I had sunny side up eggs with buttered toast, and ate silently while Ron extended his arm over me, purposely, to grab some of the hash-browns. T

he school owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying the mail, and Neville, who was next to me, choked as a huge barn owl landed in front of him with a scarlet envelope clutched in his beak. "You okay?" I asked, chewing the delicious eggs with toast.

His eyes darted between the owl and my eyes, with a whimper escaping his mouth. "A Howler." I gasped, clapping my hand over my mouth. I had gotten a Howler before, during Christmas, from Uncle Remus, which was actually very sweet, but Neville's Howler couldn't have been anything good given the circumstances. 

"Run for it, Neville." Ron advised, chewing obnoxiously while crumbs fell from his mouth. Neville seized the envelope, holding it like it was a bomb and sprinting out of the hall.

The Slytherin table watched with howls of laughter as the Howler went off in the entrance hall - Neville's grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about he had brought shame on the whole family. 

Poor Neville, I thought to myself. A small grey owl fluttered onto my head, dropping a letter onto my nose. I retrieved the letter, labelled Mum and Dad, and slid it into my pocket as I realized Harry got his letter from Hagrid.

Dear Harry, Ron and Rita,

How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six? I'll come and collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.

Cheers, Hagrid

"He probably wants to hear all about Black!" declared Ron, peering down at the parchment while Harry nodded. Thinking to myself as I sipped my pumpkin juice, I waited for my plan to work out.

In the common room, I sat down in an empty chair and took a relaxing deep breath. With everything bizarre going on, I just wanted something to remind me that I was all right. Mum and Dad's letter, I realized, pulling out of my pocket and ripping the letter open.

Dearest Rita,

How are you, my love? Hope you're taking extra care for yourself and others around you, especially with Black running around. I know you're probably extremely distressed with this - did you know that you can use crystals to calm you down? Amethyst is a really well known crystal that helps with healing and clearing your mind. The bracelet Remus got you does come in handy, wink. Oh! Your brilliant organization idea, HALO, we really think you should pursue it! Make it into a reality! You'll be following in our footsteps, like parents like daughter. Knew you had activism in your blood, I called it - Dad. Anyway, we just wanted to check up and say we love you and we miss our darling, precious daughter so much. Please write back soon!

XOXO, Mum and Dad

I smiled at the letter in my hands, even though I rarely saw any glimpse of my beloved parents, they never failed to make me smile. I nicely folded the letter back into the package, slipping it into my pocket.

Lifting up my robe sleeve, I stared at the elegant purple crystal that looked like tiny shiny rocky mountains surrounded by a silver veil bracket that clasped around my wrist. I slid it off of my wrist, holding it in the palm of my hand, taking deep breaths. 

Everything was taking a toll on me, with Ron and Hermione both arguing, Black coming in and out of the castle, Buckbeak's trial and on top of that; Uncle Remus getting sick. I hadn't had a solid moment to myself, so I wanted this time to my advantage. I sank into the chair, taking deep breaths with the crystal in my hand.

The crystal seemed to be working, releasing all of my negative thoughts. I've always enjoyed moments to myself, relaxing and taking in details of life I haven't noticed a lot. 

In the common room, each couch had a Gryffindor theme color scheme along with the throw pillows and the lanterns. 

The smell of the common room had a smooth warm smell, mixed with a hint of mothball along with cinnamon, orange and cardamom, with a sharp scent of burning wood. Everyone in the common room was either babbling about a crazy experience that had or laughing until they cried. 

The Gryffindor House was definitely a homey House, everyone loved and cared for each other like a family. The faint music of silent rock eased through the room which just brought the whole House together.

"We have to get to Hagrid's! Are you just laying down? Wake up! Rita!" Ron grunted in my ear, shaking my shoulder and startling me out of my gaze. 

"I'm up!" I hissed, elbowing Ron out of my way. I slipped my bracelet back onto my wrist and hopped off the couch.

It was around six as Ron, Harry and I dashed out of the Gryffindor common room, slipping away from the grasp of the security trolls and headed down to the entrance hall. When our scattered footsteps raced down the marble staircase, there was Hagrid standing in front of the great oak doors. 

"All right ,Hagrid!" Ron yelled, jumping off the second to last step onto the ground. He turned back to Harry and I, walking down the whole set of stairs, gesturing for us to hurry up. Harry and I both got off the staircase and followed Ron to greet Hagrid. 

"S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?" Ron added, with an angled smile, his usual cheeky grin. 

"I've already heard all abou' it,"Hagrid muttered, opening the front doors and leading us outside of the castle. "Oh," Ron said, looking slightly put out.

Hagrid lead us down the nightly shining path to his hut, and I ran in and saw Buckbeak spread out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of ferrets. Buckbeak made a happy squawk once he saw my face, I ran up to him and began ruffling his top feathers. 

"What are they for, Hagrid?" asked Harry, pointing at the gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door. 

"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures, this friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus..." Hagrid said to the two boys who looked uneasy with a nasty pang of guilt. They promised with Hermione and I to help Hagrid out with his case for Buckbeak, but they hadn't even lifted a finger. 

"Got some good stuff for Bucky." I giggled, while Buckbeak let out another happy squawk as I petted the top of his head. Ron came rushing to my side as Buckbeak's face leered down at him with his bright, gleaming orange eye. Ron froze, bowing down to Buckbeak. Buckbeak bowed his head, squawking at Ron that he wanted him to pet him.

Ron began rustling his feathers, and he chirped giddily while Hagrid made us a kettle of tea. "Why didn't you tell Harry and I?" Ron hissed under his breath into my ear, rustling Buckbeak's feathers on his back. 

"I mentioned it once or twice, then the Firebolt came and drove everything out of your little brains." I hissed back directly into his ear, as Ron rolled his eyes at me. "Fair." Ron huffed.

Hagrid waved his hand to the two of us to join him and Harry at his scrubbed wooden table, offering a plate of Bath buns and poured us tea. I sat beside Hagrid, accepting the tea, looking awkward and waiting for him to start the discussion. 

We all denied the Bath buns, they weren't all that good. "I got somethin' ter discuss with you two," Hagrid said, sitting across from Harry and Ron with his hands clamped together and a very uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

I darted between the two, with the mug cradled in my hands. Ron gave me an uneasy look, he must've been worried if I was looking serious as well. "What?" Harry asked, scrunching his eyebrows at the two of us. "Hermione." blurted out Hagrid, looking at me from the corner of his eye. I took a sip of the tea, peering over the mug I saw Ron and Harry's eyes plastered onto mine. 

"What about her?" Ron asked, waiting for an answer. I placed the mug down, raising an eyebrow at Ron, he knew exactly what. 

"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She and Rita bin coming down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat -"

"- ate Scabbers!" Ron interjected angrily. "Because her cat acted like all cats do, she's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind... they found some really good stuff fer me... reckon he'll stand a chance now..." Hagrid continued doggedly. 

"Hagrid, we should've helped as well - sorry -" Harry began awkwardly. "I'm not blamin' yeh!" Hagrid bellowed, waving Harry's apology aside. 

"Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with. I've seen yeh practinin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night - Yeah, Rita does have practice, but comes when she can -" Hagrid added, as I nodded with a confident I-told-you-so shrug. 

"But - I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. Tha's all." Hagrid wrapped up, looking from the corner of his eye and shrugging at me as if he was looking for my approval; I nodded for him to continue. 

"Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart on the right place, Hermione has, an' you, two not talkin' to her-"

"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again! But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!" Ron said angrily, by the look of his face, he knew Hagrid was right but was still beaten up by Scabber's death. 

"Ah, well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets" Hagrid wisely admitted while Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto his pillow. 

"We just wanted you guys to know how Hermione has been dealing with all of this, all right? Haven't been herself - going through a lot - and since we all are friends, I would assume you guys do care for her just as I do and understand where I'm coming from." I added as the two boys shared an uneasy look with one another. They didn't say a word, Ron bit his lip and Harry fiddled with his glasses.

Hagrid decided to break up the tension and began to discuss Gryffindor's improved chances for the Quidditch Cup. The boys, as I thought they were, were going to be furious with me, but they weren't. They laughed and included me in their conversation, complimenting me on my skills. At nine o'clock, Hagrid walked us back up to the castle.

The boys went ahead up the marble staircase while I jumped up and clapped a loud, echoing high-five with Hagrid. I soon caught with Harry and Ron, who were craning over the heads of people, bunched around the bulletin board in the common room. "What is it?" I asked softly, trying to look up over the crowd of people, but there was no use.

I was too short to see anything except for the back of people's heads. "Hogsmeade, next weekend!" Ron declared to the three of us, trailing away from the crowd and onto an empty couch. 

"What d'you reckon?" Ron asked quietly, sitting in between Harry and I. "Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes..." Harry said, even quieter and his eyes wandered around. 

"Harry!" a voice in our ears, I recognized it automatically as Hermione's. We turned our heads around, Hermione was sitting at a table right behind us, cleaning a space in the wall of books that had been hiding her.

"Harry, if you'll go into Hogsmeade again... I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map!" said Hermione, looking awkwardly at me. My eyes bulged and I shook my head and hands frantically to tell her to quit while she's ahead. 

"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?" growled Ron, looking at Harry and ignoring Hermione. 

"Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly did to you! I mean it, I'll tell-" hissed Hermione. 

" So now you're trying to get Harry expelled! Haven't you done enough damage this year?" Ron furiously exclaimed. I furiously glared at him, even after I told him how Hermione felt, he still was being extremely insensitive. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms against my chest. Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss, Crookshanks leapt onto her lap.

Hermione took one frightened look on Ron's face, gathered up Crookshanks, and hurried away toward the girls' dormitories. Soupy was crawling up the stairs behind Hermione, she and Crookshanks had become inseparable. 

I took a deep breath, I couldn't say anything else about the Ron and Hermione argument, already put my opinion, and he clearly didn't want to accept it yet. 

"So, how about it?" Ron said to the two of us as if there was no interruption. "Come on, last time we went you didn't see anything. You haven't been inside of Zonko's yet!" Harry looked around to see if Hermione was out of ear shot. 

"Okay, but I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak this time." Harry said. "Good, better not get caught by anyone." I hissed, staring directly into the fire.

On Saturday morning, I kicked off the bed and strode off to my wardrobe. Bursting open the doors, I thought to myself, casual today. Skimming through the hangers with endless possibilities, I ripped off a navy blue crewneck and tore open my drawer to find my fitted black jeans. 

Putting on the outfit quickly, along with my contacts, took two pieces of my hair; putting them in the back of my head and clipping it with a black bow. I ran out of the bathroom due to Hermione's pounds and grabbed a pair of white trainers. Slipping them on, I looked at myself in the stand-up mirror. Maybe, I do have good style.

Hermione, soon, threw the bathroom door open and was dressed in fitted blue jeans and a gray undershirt with a pale pink cardigan. She fell back on my bed, huffing a deep breath. "Hey." I giggled, looking at her from the mirror. I was fixing up my outfit, and figuring out if I should wear a belt or not. 

"Belt?" I asked, looking at Hermione in my mirror, she was staring at me in the mirror and shook her head, no. 

"Should I even go today?" Hermione asked awkwardly, looking away from my glare and at the floor. 

"Up to you, Mione." I said, turning around to face her. 

"Don't think I will. Probably go hang out with Neville, help him with Potions or more." She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. 

"Is it because of Ron's stupid remarks?" I asked, scoffing at the reminder of how furious I was with Ron last night.

She bit her lip and nodded. I took a deep breath, she didn't want to fight with Ron anymore so if her skipping out on a Hogsmeade trip, which gets renewed, makes her feel happy; that's okay with me. I took a deep breath, throwing on my cloak and looking at Hermione, she gave me a small smile. 

"At least come down with me for breakfast." I urged, holding out my hand and wiggling my fingers. She giggled, rolling her eyes and grabbed my hand. I pulled her up, laughing, and we left off for the Great hall.

Hermione and I sat next to each other, Neville on the other side of us with a wide grin. "Neville, do you need any help with Potions?" Hermione asked, breaking the ice for her plans.

"Of course, I do. Aren't you going to Hogsmeade?" Neville questioned, his eyebrows scrunched up and looked puzzled. 

"No, no. I'll help you with your Potions, is that all right?" she asked softly, as Neville nodded his head rapidly. I snickered at Hermione and Neville already talking about Potions at breakfast, and looked over to Harry. He winked at me, smiling cheekily. How pleasant. Hermione noticed and gave him a suspicious stare, and he avoided every look.

Soon enough, we all proceeded out of the Great hall and down the marble staircase to the entrance hall. Hugging Hermione tightly, she awkwardly avoided Ron's glare and ran up the stairs with Neville. 

Harry hugged me and Ron, goodbye, and walked back up the marble stair with a skip in his step. "What do you want from Honeydukes?" I asked Ron, while we followed the group across the stone bridge. 

The weather was far different from our last Hogsmeade trip, the grass sparkled with a dewy look, and the sun blazed down with a slight breeze that made my hair flow.

"One of everything in the whole store." Ron said with a smile. "We've got to stock up, I believe this is the last Hogsmeade trip for a while." I said, walking ahead of Ron and spun around casually. 

"Plus, I have to get you a gift." I said, turning back to Ron and grabbing his hands. "A gift? For what?" He said, looking puzzled.

"You git! It's our birthday month soon!" I snickered, walking beside him and exchanged a look with him. 

"I completely forgot." Ron said, covering his mouth and looking at me sincerely. Looking at him from the corner of my eye, I giggled at Ron's puzzled face. 

"I don't know if I either want to hang out with Uncle Remus for my birthday or you guys." I whispered to Ron, contemplating in my head the possibilities.

"Do whatever you feel, we'll understand no matter your choice." Ron replied, with his angled, sweet smirk. 

"Do you have an idea of what you want for your birthday?" I asked, putting my hands in my jean pockets. "Nothing, really." Ron shrugged, he didn't really didn't care what he got for his birthday.

"As long as I'm with Harry, you, Fred and George, Gin, and even Percy; then it'll be a smashing birthday party." Ron continued, his eyes sparkled a teeny bit as the sun hit us, which brightened his blue eyes.

The stone bridge came to an end, and Hogsmeade was snowless and less of a Christmas card and now like an elegant, forest lore town. Hogsmeade had witches and wizards dressed in springtime robes and happy cheers throughout the little village. The grass was greener, trees were sprouting gorgeous, bright green and flowers started to grow out of the lawns along the village.

Ron and I walked down the stony pathway, admiring the town's warm ambience and smells from all across the village ranged from fresh, baked pastries and a rich chocolate melt to burning of wood. 

We reached Honeydukes, the whole shop was crowded with students all laughing and blabbing about whatever. Grabbing a basket, we went over to a blinding pink sleeve labelled "Chocolate!", that was flashing lights which attracted a bunch of people.

There was a new nougat Honeydukes made, Ron pushed through the crowd to get his hands on four packs of it and placed it into our basket. 

"Could've gotten a black eye from some rowdy fourth year who almost tore a limb off of me." Ron said, huffing and puffing to me. I burst into a bubble of laughter, I wish I had seen that hysterical moment. Ron stood beside me with the tips of his ears red, and he itched the back of his neck, filled with embarrassment.

A sudden poke in my back caused me to jump and turn around to see absolutely nobody behind me. I scrunch my eyebrows and narrow my eyes to see if it was Malfoy and his goons somewhere behind a shelf. "It's me." muttered Harry, which sounded if he was in front of me with his Invisibility Cloak. "What kept you?" Ron hissed, turning his body to me so it didn't look like he was talking to thin air. 

"Snape was hanging around..." Harry awkwardly said, in a whisper. "Follow us, we need to stock up on sweets." I ordered to Harry, Ron held our basket while we browsed the sweet shops for whatever we felt.

"Peppermint Toads and Chocolate Frogs." I said, grabbing an armful of Chocolate Frogs into the basket. "Harry, anything you'd like?" I whispered, pretending to look around the store. I took an armful of Peppermint Toads, throwing it into the basket while Harry swooshed closer to me. 

"Bertie Bott's Jelly beans." Harry whispered, as I nodded, and proceeded to the shelve where the "Bizarre Flavours" were and threw a couple of packs into the basket. "Done?" I ask, looking at Ron. "I'll pay-" Ron offered, sticking his free arm into his clinking pocket. 

"No, no. I'll pay." I offered, snatching the basket and proceeding to the counter.

I paid nicely, and pulled Ron out of the shop followed by a swoosh which was Harry. We set off up the High Street, "Where are you? Are you still here? This feels weird..." Ron muttered, looking around for Harry. "I'm right here, Ron." Harry whispered from beside him, and we went into the post office.

Harry swooshed past us, I reckon he was browsing through the colorful owls. Ron and I pretended to be sending a letter to our families so Harry could spend as much time as he wanted. 

The owls were all hooting softly, all looking down at everyone from Great Grays to tiny Scops owls which were labeled for "Local Deliveries Only."

Then we set off for Zonko's Joke Shop, which was jam packed with students of all different years. Fred and George were both leaning against a barrel of jokes, picking out what I presumed to be their next prank. 

Harry whispered to Ron and I orders, I gathered Dungbombs and Hiccup Sweets while Ron gathered the rest of Harry's orders but with a few extra for himself. He slipped some gold from under his cloak and Ron paid, holding the bag and pointing to the exit across from us.

The day was so breezy and sunny, neither of us wanted to stay indoors, so we walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack. The wind breezed through my hair and the sun illuminated my mahogany locks that Ron called me a chocolate cherry poodle. 

I pushed Ron arm as we set off to the most haunted dwelling in Britain, It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden.

"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it," Ron said as we leaned on the fence, looking up at it. "I asked Nearly Headless Nick... He says he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut..." Ron said, shuttering at the sight of the slanted dwelling across the field. 

"The Whomping Willow I reckon was planted where the secret passage originally was... it was planted when Uncle Remus and my parents went to Hogwarts..." I shuddered, looking across my shoulder at the dwelling which looked even spookier in person.

From the distant, muffled voices were starting to come nearby. Someone was climbing toward the house from the otherside of the hill; moments later Malfoy appeared, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. "...should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm...about how I couldn't use it for three months..." Draco said while Crabbe and Goyle snickered behind him. 

"I really wish I could hear that great hairy moron trying to defend himself...' There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest-'...that hippogriff's as good as dead-" Ron and I exchanged an eye roll.

Just then Malfoy caught sight of Ron and I, leaning onto the fence and looking at each other. His pale face split into a malevolent grin. "Well, well, look who's here. You two shopping for your new dream home? Suppose you'd love to live here, wouldn't you, Weasel Bee? Dreaming about having your own room? I heard your family all sleep in one room - is that true?" Draco snarled at the two of us, with his lazy drawl. 

Ron, who was beside me, tried to leap onto Malfoy but I grabbed his arm, tugging him back while Harry behind us yanked his robes. "Leave him to me," Harry hissed into our ears.

And with a swoosh, Harry creeped behind Malfoy and a floating ball of mud was scooped out of the path. "We were just discussing you friend Hagrid," Malfoy said to us, sucking his teeth. "Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off his hippogriffs-" This enraged me so much, my blood started to boil, I tried to throw a punch at Malfoy, but Ron jerked me back. 

"SPLAT!" Malfoy's head jolted forward as the mud hit him; his silver blond hair suddenly dripping in muck. 

"What the-?" Draco hissed, turning his head to see who was behind him. Ron and I burst into a bubble of laughter, which he almost toppled over, so he grabbed onto the fence to hold himself up.

I held my stomach as I bent and laughed so loudly that tears flew down my cheeks. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle spun stupidly on the spot, staring wildly around. Malfoy trying to wipe his hair clean. 

"What was that? Who did that?" Malfoy whimpered. 

"Very haunted up here, isn't it?" said Ron, with the air of one commenting on the weather. I laughed harder, looking at Malfoy's silver blond hair covered in muck. 

"Now you've got brown hair, bleaching it again, huh, Malfoy?" I joked, as Ron snorted, bending forward and laughing at the ground.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared. Their bulging muscles were no use against ghosts. Malfoy was staring madly around at the deserted landscape when all of a sudden, "SPLATTER!" Crabbe and Goyle caught some this time, Goyle hopped furiously on the spot, trying to rub it out of his small, dull eyes. 

"It came from over there!" Malfoy said, wiping his face, and staring at some spot six feet away from us. Crabbed, blundered forward, his long arms outstretched like a zombie. Ron and I hysterically were in tears over the whole trio fighting the air.

There was a floating stick, then it lobbed right at Crabbe's back. Crabbe did a kind of pirouette in midair, trying to see who had thrown it. Ron and I laughed at Crabbe's pirouette. "

Maybe he could be a dancer." Ron joked, making even more tears come out of my eyes. 

Crabbe saw Ron, staring directly at him, lunging at him, but Harry stuck out his leg. Crabbed stumbled- and his huge, flat foot caught the hem of Harry's Cloak. 

The Cloak slid off his face. Malfoy stared at Harry in the eyes, my heart jumped out of my chest. "AAARGH!" he yelled, pointing at Harry's head.

Then he turned tail and ran, at breakneck speed, back down the hill, Crabbe and Goyle behind him. Harry tugged the Cloak up again, but the damage was done. Ron and I ran directly to where Harry once was. 

"Harry!" Ron whispered, stumbling forward and staring hopelessly at the point where Harry disappeared. "You'd better run for it! Malfoy tells anyone- you'd better get to the castle, quick-"

"Hurry, Harry. Tell Hermione if anyone wants proof you were there!" I whispered, trying to grasp the thin air of where Harry once was. 

"See you later," departed Harry, not saying a word, and he tore down the path toward Hogsmeade. It was already time to return back to Hogwarts, Ron and I ran down the hill and back into the forest lore village. 

Ron and I both randomly pirouetted into the air, causing the two of us to snort into our cloaks while the students in front of us to see if we were laughing at them. This made us laugh even harder, my chest began to hurt after the whole laughing attack I had.

We arrived back at the castle, everyone ran up the marble staircase and into either staircase whichever was their Tower; Ron and I went up the stairs and made our ways into the Gryffindor common room. Neville and Hermione were smiling and laughing on the couch, turning their heads to the sound of the portrait slam. 

Hermione giddily stretched her arm in the air, waving for me to come to her. Ron's face whimpered when he realized Harry wasn't in the common room. Taking out a Chocolate Frog out of my bag, I clapped it into Ron's palm. 

"Don't worry." I hushed, smiling at him and turning to Hermione and Neville. Neville and Hermione made a seat between them for me, and I sat down between them as they looked at me with cheeky smiles. 

"I'd take you guys had fun...studying?" I said, darting between Neville and Hermione. 

"Sort of." Hermione said, while I held my chest, taken back at the fact Hermione said she didn't have fun studying. Neville giggled and shook his head, "Do you still have that Potion I gave you?" Hermione asked, looking at me with a furrowed eyebrow. 

"Course. It's in my bag, actually." I giggled, twisting my purple bag and landing it on my lap.

In the little pocket, I pulled out the vial and handed it to Hermione. Neville moved a stack of books, there was a tiny plant in a brown pot, looking as if it were about to die. 

"We actually found out what this potion is." Neville smiled, holding the plant in his hands, looking up at Hermione. She took the vial's cork out, dumping it all on the tiny, dried up plant. Neville chuckled, placing the pot back onto the table and exchanged a smirk with Hermione.

A Flutterby bush sprouted from the dried up bud, filling our noses with the scent of the sea. "That's wicked!" I exclaimed, my jaw hung darting from both Neville and Hermione.

"Do you want it? We know you love the sea." Hermione giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at me. 

"An early birthday gift, Ri." Neville smiled, with a twinkle in his eye. 

"I love it. I'll take it." I giggled, hugging Neville tightly than Hermione tightly.

A sudden thud was heard from the portrait hole, then it swung open with a hooting owl with a wrinkled letter in his claws. The owl flew around, looking at Hermione, then dropping the letter into her lap and zoomed back out of the portrait hole. 

She furrowed her eyebrows at the wrinkled letter, looking at the two of us with a weird look on her face. She tore open the letter and read it aloud.

Dear Hermione and Rita,

We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you gave us.

Hagrid

Hermione lifted up her head, folding the tear filled letter and holding it crumbled in her fist. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as tears poured out of my eyes.

Buckbeak grew to be one of my own, I felt. Like he was Soupy but a hippogriff, he grew on me so much and now hearing about him getting executed.

I couldn't stop the tears falling out my eyes, Neville awkwardly backed away from us and ran up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. 

Hermione and I put our heads together, crying harshly over the most heartbreaking news we had gotten today. After a few minutes of crying loudly, and sniffling erratically. I took a deep breath and there was one thing on my mind. HALO needs to be a reality.

Hermione and I knew we had to tell the boys, so we set off and walked out of the common room and into the corridor.

"Come to have a good gloat? Or have you come to tell on us?" Ron said savagely, not noticing the tears falling down our faces. Harry nudged Ron's shoulder, signalling for him to look at our red eyes and trembling lips. 

"All right?" Ron asked, looking at the two of us with a new sort of sympathy. 

"No." Hermione said, her lip trembling as she held the letter in her hands. "I just thought you ought to know ... Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed." Hermione whimpered, as I sobbed into my hands to relive the actual reality of the heartbreaking news.

Ron and Harry both stood there in some sort of shock, darting from each other and the wailing girls in front of them.


	12. success and happiness

"He - he sent me this," Hermione's arm was shaking as she was holding out the letter to show the boys. Wailing even harder, Hermione wrapped her arm around me and let my tears damp her blouse. 

Harry awkwardly accepted the letter, looking down at the enormous tear drops smudged letter, trying to decipher it. A second later, Ron and Harry's faces dropped. 

"They can't do this. They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous." Harry shakily said. 

"Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. 

"That bleached blond git. And those push-over committee workers. " I muttered, wiping my eyes with my sleeve. I sniffled, breaking out of Hermione's grasp.

Ron exchanged a worried look on his face with me to see if I was all right. "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope... Nothing will have changed." Hermione whimpered, she put her all into helping Hagrid, she felt like it was all for nothing. 

"All the nights spent at Hagrid's gone down the drain. It's all gone to waste, don't see how anything could get better." I sniffled, the tears were dripping down my cheeks. I swear, I definitely look like a waterworks.

"Yeah, it will." Ron interrupted fiercely, darting from Hermione and I with a fire in his eyes. "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Rita and Hermione. I'll help." Ron said, while Hermione and I both shared a relieved look. 

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione cried, feeling like a burden had been lifting off her shoulders. 

"Thank you, Ron." I sobbed, flinging my arms around Ron's neck and broke down into his chest. Hermione joined in on the hug, also crying into Ron's chest, the two of us were in Ron's chest, sobbing hysterically.

Ron, who looked completely terrified that two girls were having a shared mental breakdown, patted Hermione and I's heads awkwardly. I lifted up my head to see Ron's petrified look across his face and he let out a weirded out chuckle.

Hermione and I broke off from Ron's hold and Hermione let out a deep sigh. 

"Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers..." Hermione sobbed. 

"Oh - well - he was old," Ron said, looking thoroughly relieved that the two of us had let go of him. "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl." Ron shrugged, smiling with his angled smirk. 

"Finally." I mumbled, rolling my eyes at the two and resting my arms behind my head, Buckbeak's execution slipped my mind as I was over excited that my two friends were finally on good terms again. The four of us walked toward the slurry trolls passage, and whispered the password to the Fat Lady.

The common room filled with loud cheers, Ron walked in with a smile and took a bow. "Cheers!" He yelled happily, the common room blared louder after him, all with "Yeah!" echoing through the air. 

"They're not cheering for you," Hitting Ron's stomach, I scoffed at him and slumped over to the couch, flopping down on it. 

"Ow!" Ron whined, rubbing his stomach with a slip of wincing. "What are they even cheering for?" Harry asked, sitting next to me and watching the crowd bounce up and down around the radio as the radio station spoke about the Beatles reuniting after John Lennon's death in 1980's. 

"The Beatles," I softly said, looking at my friends who sprouted a smile except for Ron. 

"Beetles? Little cockroaches that creep up along your ankles and tickle your skin? Why are they cheering for bloody bugs?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Hermione and I shared a chuckle; The Beatles was Uncle Remus' favorite band, I grew up listening to their music booming throughout my house. 

"They're a famous Muggle band, legends, really. Since the 1950's their music took over radio stations all over the world, even wizards enjoyed them. They ended in 1970 over John Lennon's girlfriend, Yoko Ono and along with many other factors; but I think it was all Yoko's fault. Such a phenomenal band. Shame." I shook my head, turning to hear the music a bit clearer. 

Fred and George were dancing, back to back, pretending to play air guitar in the air as the music thundered from the little speaker that stood on a mantel. 

"Great, love The Beatles. Can we go up to your dormitory and figure out Hagrid's situation?" Hermione said, clenching her bag tightly and swooshed up the stairs. I sighed, getting up as the two boys followed to the boy's dorm.

Walking up the stairs, I smacked open the door of the room. Hermione's head swung up, scattered books all over the floor, on Harry's bed and notes piled up in places between the books. 

"This is like a maze, Hermione." Ron said, pushing me and trying to achieve an open spot on the floor. Skipping over a big stack of notes, I jumped on Harry's bed and threw open the book on my bed. Harry sat next to Ron, as we all skimmed through the enormous books Hermione set out. Spread out across the bed, I held the book over my head, trying to figure out any good information I could find. 

"Look! I found some-'' The book crashed onto my face, slamming against my nose and Ron's laughter echoed through the room.

Hours went by, Harry was asleep in his book, drooling onto the pages. Ron and I sat on Harry's bed, playing who can slap the hardest. The two of us held our hands together, slapping the other's to pass the time. 

"I might hurt you, Ri, I've got a strong smack," He uttered, hesitating putting his large hand on top of mine. "Ronnie, just do it." I groaned, grabbing his hand, placing it on top of mine.

Hermione dashes down to the side of the four poster with three huge books, stacking them in between Ron and I. 

"Hey!" We both shouted, darting to Hermione. She rolled her eyes at the two of us. 

"It's pretty late now, we should get going to our dormitory." I mumbled, pointing at the asleep Harry who was snoring into the book pages. 

"Tomorrow, we'll be on our best behavior. Looking for everything and anything that could help Hagrid." Ron promised Hermione as she looked at us, trying to decide if she should let us go. 

"Promise." I said, sticking out my pinky finger and waiting for her to twist her pinky around mine. She scoffed, darting between me and Ron and finally gave in. She interlocked our pinkies and shut the book in her hand.

Ron stepped off the bed, shaking Harry's shoulders to wake him up. Harry snores louder, muttering things to himself. 

"Harry," Ron hissed, shaking Harry again but a little bit harder. Harry's eyes shot open, "WHAT!" he yelled, he whipped his head left and right and his glasses flew off his face. 

"The girls are going back to the dormitory," Ron laughed, holding his hand out for Harry to pull him up. 

"Fine. Could have been a bit nicer." He growled, clapping Ron's hand and Ron pulled him up. 

"Tried to, you wouldn't even budge! Sleep like you've got a loogie stuck in your throat." Ron scoffed, smiling at us as we walked out.

Soupy meowed on my head, circling on top of my head with her little nails pricking my cheek. I jumped out of my bed, throwing off Soupy and reached for my glasses that laid on the nightstand. 

"Sirius Black! Don't stab me!" I whimpered, pulling my blanket over my nose, peeking and preparing myself to see a psychopath above my bed. Soupy hissed, jumping back onto my bed and scratched me with her claws. 

"Oh. It was you." I softly said, she approached me and laid across my lap. Petting her soft grey fur, her blue eyes looked up at me, giving me a sort of you-idiot look on her face. "Rude." I said, scrunching my eyebrows at the fat cat on my lap.

Checking my watch, it was approximately 6:30 A.M.; Way too early, I thought to myself. I threw my head back onto my pillow and tried to shut my eyes, shuffling around in my bed to try and get comfortable. 

Soupy ran up close to my face, shoving her pink nose into my face. She meowed in my face, placing her paws onto my face. 

"What?" I groaned, opening my eyes to see Soupy's blue wide eyes directly in front of me. "You keep waking me up. Stop it." I groggily whined, closing my eyes again. Soupy prodded her nose into my cheek, hissing at me, did she want me to get up that bad? 

"Have it your way then." I kicked off my bed, giving Soupy a good morning kiss, and approached my oak wardrobe. Grabbing the comfiest outfit I could find, I set off into the bathroom.

Taking off my mint silk pyjama set, I jumped into a grey sweatpants and over my head, I threw the matching grey jumper. Not even bothering to do my hair or put in my contacts because it was way too early in the morning for anyone to be up, especially on a Saturday. 

Zooming out of the bathroom, I fetched the huge book I was reading yesterday and opened the door. Letting Soupy walk ahead of me, I followed her and she slithered down the stone stairs and onto the nearest table. 

"Quiet. Just how I like it." I said, scurrying over to Soupy, pulling out the chair and scooting myself closer to the table. I opened the book, taking in the deserted common room with excitement. 

I skipped to a random page of the book, looking at both pages to see if the words 'hippogriffs' or 'innocent' were hidden along the yellow parchment. The silence was comforting, and the only noises were coming from Soupy, purring softly while her tail slightly drooped.

A smack against the boy's dormitory boomed throughout the passage all the way down to the common room. I flinched out of my focus, rolling my eyes and whipped my head to see who it was. 

"Mornin' Rita,'' muttered Fred, stretching his arms in the air followed by a wide yawn. "Good morning to you both." I smiled at them, flicking through the huge book that Hermione told me to read thoroughly.

"Being a nerd so early in the day?" George joked, pulling out the chair beside me and sitting down at the table with me. 

"Couldn't be me." Fred sneered, sitting down across from us and kicking his legs up on the table, hoisting his head up with his arms. 

"I always read, maybe you're just too in a world of your own." I grabbed a sticky note from the table and stuck it under a paragraph, straightening it out with my thumb. 

"Am not. I notice the important things in life, the finer things." Fred snickered, confidently nodding his head.

"Important and finer like pranks and girl's arses?" I sarcastically retorted, lifting up my eyes to see Fred's expression. His mouth hung wide, turning into a smirk, "You know me too well." I rolled my eyes, redirecting them to start noting on the sticky notes.

"What're you reading?" George softly asked, glimpsing at my quill moving as I wrote. 

"Hippogriff cases; need to help Hagrid out with one. Malfoy got his dad to go up to the Committee for Disposal of Dangerous Creatures because the thick idiot got hit by it." I ranted, getting upset over the mention of Malfoy. 

"Would have paid to see that." George laughed, wishing that he was able to even just graze upon that hilarious sight. 

"He definitely cried like a little Mummy's boy.-" Fred scrunched up his nose and narrowed his eyes, mimicking Draco's cry; "Mummy! A big, stupid creature tore off my lanky arm! I'm such a big, big namby-pamby!" George laughed with Fred over their imagination of Malfoy getting struck by Buckbeak.

I giggled at Fred's imitation of Malfoy getting struck, they did know how to make a terrible situation, somewhat better. 

"What are you two doing up this early?" I asked, realizing the rim of my glasses while I looked up at the boys.

They were never morning people, which puzzled me in how they were even so content. "Special occasion that you've seen us this early, isn't it?" Fred chortled, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. 

"Always a pleasure seeing you both." I smiled, "But, I'm really, really focused on helping Hagrid; If I can't, there's no hope." I said blatantly, pursing my lips and taking a deep breath. 

"We'll be on our way to Hogsmeade in a bit," George announced, sharing a wink with Fred and turning his head away from mine. "Then we'll be out of your hair..." Fred said, whipping his head over his shoulder to see the grandfather clock that ticked. 

"Wait a second." I said, the two boys slowly turned back to me and gave me a smirk. I haven't got Ron a birthday present, this was my chance. 

"I don't mean to be a bother... but if you could possibly collect a whole box of chocolate frogs and deliver to me... I'll pay if you need." I pleaded, hoping the boys would actually accept my offer; with an awkward grin to increase my chances.

George and Fred awkwardly shared a puzzled look with one another, it looked as if they were speaking to one another in some sort of code that consisted of weird eyebrow and mouth movements. 

"Of course." George kindly answered, and Fred smirked. "We're here to serve with our good looks and our kindness." Fred said, extending his hand out towards me, waiting for my payment. 

"Thank you both," I cheered thankfully, twisting my bag in front of me, unzipping it and grabbing a handful of gold coins. I put it in Fred's palm but a few slipped off, so he retrieved them with his extra hand. 

"Anything for you." They said in sync, getting up from the seats at my table, beginning to turn away but did a 180.

"Ri, I know it may seem like there's no hope," George softly said. "But there always is, I know somewhere in that bushy hair is a brain working hard to figure out a solution," Fred soothed. 

"If there's a chance to take matters into your own hands, take it. We both know if anyone's capable, it's you." George encouraged me, smiling with Fred widely. 

"We'll be back soon, before you even know it. And if McGonagall asks, we're sleeping in." Fred jabbered, waving goodbye and ran out of the common room. "Good luck." George comforted, waving and followed Fred out of the common room. 

I was marveled, they just gave me the courage I needed to produce HALO. Soupy's blue eyes, looked directly into mine and gave a hearty meow. "I'm going to do it." I whispered, petting Soupy's head and messing up her grey fur more than it already was.

I was determined to take matters into my own hands, especially with the pep talk from both Fred and George, which was so bizarre how that could read my mind and figure out how troubled I was. 

Maybe they have telekinesis like twins usually do. Watching the two twins wave goodbye and crawl out of the room, I zoomed through the book and began taking sticky notes and plastering them wherever I thought would be reliable.

Two hours passed, it was now 9 a.m., the boys should be back by now. My leg bounced up and down, waiting for the two to come back to the common room.

5 minutes passed, still staring at the door, there was no sight of them. 10 minutes..., still no sign of them but the common room started to get chatty when Dean and Seamus arrived and sat down on the couch, waiting for breakfast to start.

A quarter passed, I was beginning to feel worried, just then loud laughter filled the passage and the portrait hole swung open. Two long red haired lanky boys, stumbled into the room and filled the whole room with laughter. 

They raced over to me, bags of Zonko's jokes hung on their arms with a huge box that they shared to hold, dropping it down in front of me that made Soupy fall off the table. 

"All right?" Fred giggled, breathing heavily. 

"Did you get that strain of courage that you needed?" George asked, huffing and puffing. 

"Yes. Thank you for giving me that." I beamed, collecting the huge box and walking up the stairs to hide it into my room. 

A faint, "Did you get what he asked?" Fred whispered to his brother as I walked up the stairs slowly. "Yeah, Ron will be so pleased that we even were able to get it." George whispered back, I wondered what they were talking about. Oh well, bigger things to worry about. 

I swung open my dormitory door and strode over to the huge wardrobe, Soupy followed and jumped right onto my bed. I swung open the doors, clearing a spot of the huge box of chocolate frogs that the boys bought me.

I closed the wardrobe doors, looking down at my watch, it was 9:45, almost time for everyone to get down to breakfast. Hermione was fast asleep, tossing and turning with Crookshanks curled up in a ball by the foot of her bed. Looks like an angel, too bad, time to wake up the beast.

I ran over to Hermione's four poster and shook Hermione's arm and waited for her to react. She groaned, and snored back into her deep sleep. I shook her arm more fastly and her eyes opened. She rubbed her eyes, blinking them and staring right at me. 

"Rita, what's wrong with your hair? You look like me with that bush." She yawned, I whimpered and moved a piece of hair to the front of my face. It was frizzy.

"Shut it. Now get up." I gibed, turning to get to the bathroom to tame my lion mane. I didn't even bother to put my contacts in, glasses were what I was feeling like today, but my hair: I wasn't feeling like Hagrid. 

I sprayed water along my curls, brushing it through the bristols of my comb. My hair straightened out, after I combed through the bushy mess; bouncing back up into curls like it was some sort of stretched spring, spiraling back into its regular set. I opened up my hair styling cream, and smoothed it through my hair while I twirled some stringy curls around my finger.

Fixing some last minute out of place hairs, I stalked out of the bathroom and looked around for Hermione. She was by her bed, gathering another book for Hagrid; and turned back around to see me.

"Ready?" I asked, looking at her with a smile. She nodded and we both strode out and headed into the common room. Harry and Ron both were looking tired, Ron stretched out his arms, falling head back into the couch and shut his eyes. I ran down to the couch, standing in front of him and shaking him out of his sleep. 

"Breakfast. I heard they have bacon." I whispered to him, squeezing his arms tightly. His eyes shot open, and spazzed out of my grip and out of the common room. 

"Brilliant." Harry muttered to me, jumping out of the couch and walked ahead of me. I snickered and followed the boys with Hermione cradling the book in her arms.

Breakfast was silent, we were all reminiscing about the terrible news we were given last night. Everyone couldn't make out a word, even Ron who usually had something chipper to say, had nothing to say. He instead chomped down on slivers of bacon, occasionally sharing a look with me and his mouth dropping little crumbs. 

"I think I may start a club." I whispered, breaking the silence of our friends, they all looked at me with a weird expression. "

I can't bear to wait for things to happen to Buckbeak, the least I can do is make it known around the school how poorly these hippogriffs get treated." I said softly, my eyes were staring down at the eggs on my plate while I cut them up into little triangle shapes. 

"Didn't you tell me about this? You called it HALO? Right?" Ron asked, speaking with his mouth full. "You're eating with your mouth full, but yes." I giggled, lifting up my eyes to see Ron swallow his food before finishing his sentence.

"Yeah. Don't you need a professor to help you authorize the club and get it running?" Ron asked, his mouth wasn't full but he had a piece of bacon in his hand. 

"That's why I'm going to see Uncle Remus after breakfast." I said, with a disdainful look on my face. "

I think that's fantastic, should we inform Hagrid about it too?" asked Hermione, bewildered with excitement that I was being in the driving seat. 

"Maybe not yet," Harry interjected, sharing a look with me. "He'd probably be angry that we were trying to fix his mess so let's wait till we at least hold our first session?" Harry logically added, I nodded in agreement.

After we all finished our delicious breakfast, I broke off from my pleased friends and strode up to Uncle Remus' office with a knock that we would only use to inform them it was the other. I knocked a little tune, and Uncle Remus whipped the door open. 

"Good morning, Rita Pita. What brings you so early?" He asked, straightening out his robes, and opened the door widely for me to come in. 

"Well, two things. I wanted to see you and I wanted to ask your permission for something." I awkwardly said, pulling out the chair and sitting gracefully down. 

"Is something wrong?" Uncle Remus asked, pouring tea into his mug and into my mug. "You know about Buckbeak, of course. I mean probably Hagrid told you about the appeal, right?" I asked, pulling the mug and taking a sip. 

"Well, yes. And you told me you've been helping him, yes?" Uncle Remus questioned, slurping his tea. 

"Yeah. I've gotten attached to the hippogriff. And even if I can't change the appeal decision, I want to do everything I can about the terrible treatment of these elegant creatures." I said, with such passion. I really did want to do everything in my power to help save Buckbeak, or even change the world's opinion on these abused creatures.

Uncle Remus laughed, not the kind of laugh that would be laughing at me but laughing at me because of how much I reminded him of my parents. 

"You sound like your parents." He said, placing the mug back down onto the coaster. 

"One of the many attributes you get from your parents are their pride and their heart. They want to change this brutal world, and they're doing it to the best of their abilities. With what you just told me, that shined through." He smiled, his fingers interlocked and his elbows relaxed on his desk.

I couldn't help but shed a tear, it dropped right into my tea and I giggled at myself. What a baby I was when it came to any mention of my parents. 

"I guess they are closer to me than I thought." I smiled, though the stream of tears flowing out of my eyes. "Now," He said, holding my hand and squeezed it. 

"I'll approve your club, and you can even use my classroom to use. I can inform Dumbledore too, I'll send him a letter in the owlery tonight. Now that that's out of the way, can you help me make breakfast? I wasn't in the mood for eggs, today. Pity, they're really well made..." Uncle Remus said, looking up at the stairs behind him. 

"Of course. Are we doing this with our wands or another way?" I asked, pulling out my wand and hoping we were using our wands. "No. The Muggle way." He answered, smirking.

For the next two weeks, it was all about planning both Ron and I's birthdays, the preparation of HALO, helping Hagrid out and even training every weekday. It seemed basically impossible, but it wasn't not even for me.

I asked Dean Thomas since he's a superb artist to draw me, Buckbeak with a halo over him as a poster for my club. He accepted, actually intrigued on what I had planned on doing with this. 

Ron and I had made a list of his birthday since it's his first and he wants a little party in the common room, but Fred and George had made a plan with me to even gather some streamers from the party we had last time, now for Ron. 

After every long day, Harry and I turned up at practice, giving it our all for the Quidditch final; we were so determined, even Wood was boasting in our will power. 

And every weekend, Ron, Harry, Hermione and I went down to the library and look up anything that could help Hagrid out with his appeal. 

Buckbeak was getting gloomy, his coos weren't even remotely happy anymore. I tried my hardest to lift his spirits but he didn't budge. It hurt me more than I could have imagined.

The morning of Ron's birthday arrived and everyone woke up earlier than we have if it was any regular day. 

Hermione and I crept out of the girl's dormitory and flew down the stairs. I fell right down the stairs and face planted onto the common room's heated floors. 

It felt nice on my bruised face. Hermione fought back her laughter behind me, pulling me up and biting her lip, hoping the laughing would stop.

As a quarter of the hour passed, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Fred, George, Ginny, Percy all soon came down into the common room and snuck behind the couch with us. Harry had it planned out that he would bring Ron down and we would all scream "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and scare the sleep out of him. 

Harry soon, making as much noise as possible, laughing loudly and yelling Ron's name through the stone passage to the common room. I watched the two arrive in the common room, stepping down and looking around for anyone.

"Harry, where's everyone?" Ron yawned, looking around at the deserted common room. "Isn't that weird? It's like the common room is weirdly quiet today? On your birthday!" Harry loudly bellowed, signaling us to come out and scream.

We jumped out from behind the couch and yelled, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON!" Ron's face bursted into a wide beam, as confetti shot through the room as we all screamed the words that made Ron's day.

We all ran toward Ron, engulfing him into a hug and he laughed so happily that made my heart jump. We all, in a huge crowd, following Ron and letting him take in all of the confidence and attention, we made it down to breakfast where Hagrid came down and made him a pin made from stone that labeled, "Birthday Boy!" Ron accepted it so appreciative, he even gave Hagrid such a squeeze that he couldn't breathe.

Throughout the day, and through the corridors, everyone wished Ron a happy birthday and wished him a great day. In McGonagall's class, he was boasting so much that even McGonagall didn't want to bring his spirit down.

During lunch, when the usual owls came down to give us our mail, Ron got a box dropped at him filled with cakes and sweets that his mum prepared for him. 

He was full of delight. Uncle Remus' class came around and he made the whole class sing Happy Birthday for him, some of the half-bloods didn't know the Wizarding way of this song, so Uncle Remus streamed a misty white veil that presented the words to the whole class so everyone could sing along. 

Ron deserved a great birthday, I'm so happy that he had such a brilliant day so far. But nothing could top his party in the common room after classes.

Ron and Harry set off to walk around the corridors while Fred, George, Ginny, Hermione, Percy and I all decorated the common room into a bright orange streamer filled party with presents from all of us stuffed into a corner of the room. 

Bossing everyone around, telling them where to put everything and ordering them to fix the streamers that were unbalanced, was maybe a bit fun in my opinion. 

"Tiny Temper in my hand." the twins sang, mixing the lyrics of Tiny Dancer by Elton John to fit the current circumstances. I rolled my eyes while they giggled away. Percy looked at his watch, and his face turned into a panicky look. 

"It's time." He panicked, shutting the lights and running around making last arrangements. 

"Calm down, Perce." ordered Fred, pulling Percy down to his hiding spot with him and George. They both laughed at Percy, but stopped once the portrait hole opened with a creak.

"Ah! What a brilliant, dim empty common room. Just how we like it." Harry shouted, making it very obvious that we were all hiding yet again. I smacked my hand against my forehead. 

"Are you all right? You've been acting funny since we've left the common room or entered it. Is Peeves around, did you get worried?" Ron asked worriedly, but Harry took a deep breath. 

"I'm fine! Let's hang out and spend a quiet, calm, birthday ending!" He screamed, looking around and waiting for us to jump out. 

"Remind me to help Harry improve his swiftness." I whispered to Hermione and Ginny who chuckled. 

"SURPRISE!" we all shouted, getting up from the hiding spots and Percy lit all the lights to show the decorated common room.

Ron's eyes twinkled, there were orange streamers and balloons that were floating around the edges of the room, a cake and a bunch of Hogsmeade sweets along the tables, with presents of all different sizes lined up in a corner. He giddily squealed, jumping up and down, hugging everyone individually. 

"You should be thanking Rita, she basically ordered us around like we were some puppets." George added, as Ron beamed and ran to me and flung his arms around me and squeezed me tightly. 

"You're the best." Ron whispered in my ear and flung me around in a circle, my feet flew off the ground and the tall, lanky boy flung me around like a doll.

"Open your presents!" Ginny exclaimed, breaking Ron's tight grasp around me and pulled me away. 

"All right," Ron giddily skipped over to the presents, while I stepped over to Harry, he was chewing a Pink Coconut Ice with his head bopping. 

"I think we're lucky Ron didn't catch on to your obvious, awkward, loudness." I giggled, holding my hand out for Harry to give me one. 

"It works out all perfectly at the end." Harry smiled, giving me a piece and we watched Ron hug his sisters and brothers and Hermione tight as he opened the presents they wrapped for him.

He grabbed the biggest box, which was mine, and screamed, "This is incredibly heavy! Is this box full of rocks?" I laughed at him, Harry and I approached him. 

"Open it, idiot." I said, pointing at the box. He opened it, and instantly grabbed one of the chocolate frogs out of the box. 

"Blimey. A box of chocolate frogs, this could probably last me a last time..." Ron's eyes twinkled, again picking me up and swinging me around like a doll. I laughed at his ginger hair itching my skin as he burrowed his way into my neck.

He put me down and headed for the last one, Harry's gift. Harry got him a limited edition Chudley Cannons poster that Ron longed for. Ron gave Harry the biggest bearhug known to man, it was hilarious. Harry's face purpled as he squirmed around and gasped for air.

The party was something everyone needed, with the atrocious hours of training, Fred and George laughed with their siblings at crazy stories that happened at their home, Percy who had been such a stick in the mud was actually being delightful. Hermione hadn't touched a book, she, Neville, Dean and Seamus were all playing a round of Gobstones. 

Harry was even letting loose, laughing hysterical at George and Fred's story. Ron was adding on and even making more jokes that made the whole common room laugh. I was having a blast, this was such a great idea.

The morning after, Dean Thomas approached me at breakfast, handing me a bunch of pieces of parchments with different variations of Buckbeak with a halo. 

"Here you are." He grinned, he stayed for a few and watched me go through all of the impeccable drawings he had made me. 

"Dean, you are truly so talented." I said, beaming at him. "Anytime, Rita." He said, waved and walked back to Seamus.

I spread out the drawings, showing them to the whole group who were in awe. "This one, this one is wicked." Ron said, beside me, pulling out the full body drawing of Buckbeak with a gleaming halo above him. 

"Or this one, to show how lovely he is." Hermione said, showing the one with Buckbeak with puppy eyes and a bright halo. 

"Or this one. I like this one a lot." Harry said, picking up the one where Buckbeak is standing proudly and the halo twinkled as the sun shined for him. 

"All right, how about this. We put this one," I said, grabbing Harry's, "This one on the bulletin board in front of the entrance hall for everyone to see. Then this one," I said, picking the one Hermione had, "This one in the Gryffindor common room bulletin board. Then the one Ron has, we hang it up in the classroom. Is that fair?" I asked, darting to each of them. 

"Perfect." Hermione smiled, clapping excitedly at everything coming together. "What about your birthday, Rita? You're so absorbed into everything else but your birthday..." Ron said, pursing his lips at me and a shrug to follow. 

"If the lot shows up for my meeting on my birthday- I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, I hate parties." I said, turning to Ron and squeezed his hand to show that I was all right.

Truth is, I did want my friends to celebrate my birthday with me, but that was out of the picture. My club, Quidditch, and Buckbeak were way too important for any of that. 

"Come with me to hang them up?" I ask, shaking the pictures with raising eyebrows at my friends. We grabbed our things, and headed for the entrance hall. 

I hung the club up on the packed bulletin board writing "First meeting March 15th", hoping everyone would see it. 

Then we ran through the marble stairs and into the common room, hanging the next one on the bulletin board in there. 

The last one, I held in my book and we proceeded to classes.

The day of my birthday, I made myself a bit prettier than I would have than any other day. It was my fourteen birthday after all, I deserved to look pretty. I waved my hand with my wand pointed at my hair, and gave myself straightened hair. 

I did a bit of makeup, blush, and mascara with a lip gloss. I placed my contacts in and stared at myself in the mirror, straight hair makes my burgundy hair even brighter. Weird. I looked beautiful, I thought.

Brushing my robes down, I gave Soupy a good morning kiss and Hermione surprised me from behind. "Happy birthday!" She shouted, holding out a book-like gift in her hands. "Thank you, Mione." I smiled, hugging her and swayed around in a circle. 

I grabbed her gift and unraveled it, a planner was revealed under the purple wrapping paper. On the top it said in Hermione's handwriting: Hermione's gift to Rita. 

"You can plan out everything with this, I have several. They're very useful and since you're busy like I, I thought you'd like one too!" She beamed, bouncing up and down at her heels. "I love it." I smiled at the gift, placing it in my bag and hugged her once again. 

"You guys won't do the same thing that we did for Ron, for me - Right?" I asked nervously, as Hermione let out a frightened laugh.

"Oh no." I whimpered, dreading the moment that was seconds away from happening. I walked into the common room, and the lights were dim. Hermione laughed loudly, and I knew it was going to happen, they would jump out. 

Ron, Harry, Fred, George, Ginny, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, Angelina, Katie, Oliver, and Percy all screamed "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" from behind several hiding spots. I couldn't help but burst out into laughter, all my friends in one room, it made me laugh. 

"Thank you all." I exclaimed, proceeding to the ground and getting wrapped into a huge group hug that engulfed me inside.

I laughed again, even if I was in the arms of countless people, and we all walked down the corridor to attend breakfast. Balloons already were settled where I usually sat, and I blushed extremely as the whole crowd of people followed me and everyone's eyes were burning into me, watching my every move.

A letter from Mum and Dad swooped in from the owls, I tore it open and smiled at the font. All they wrote was, 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY WE LOVE YOU' but even the smallest gesture, could mean everything.

Uncle Remus came out of nowhere, hugging me and sprouting a dark purple rose from his wand. "For you. A dark purple rose means mystical and royalty, and it's for people you look up to the most. And that's you, Rita Pita." He smiled, handing the prickless rose to me and rustled my robes. 

"Thank you, Uncle Remus." I beamed, with my eyes starting to water and he swooshed away. I wiped the tears from my eyes and picked at the food in front of me.

I was nervous, way too nervous. "Eat!" Ron yelled at me, shoveling his fork into my mouth with hashbrowns on it. My eyes bulged, staring right at Ron and he snorted at me. 

I chewed it and swallowed it, still looking awkward at Hermione and Harry. Harry and Hermione just snorted at my petrified face, which made me feel a bit better, weirdly enough.

Classes started and as we roamed the halls for our next class, people ran up and wished me a happy birthday. 

We had double Potions first which made my stomach squelch, the Slytherins all stared deadly at me and rolled their eyes at me. It made me sick, I wanted to be over with this rubbish class.

Harry and Ron were arguing with Draco, and I tried to hear it but there were only muffles. Snape went over there and yelled at them to stop the nonsense. 

The class ended, and Ron and Harry zoomed out of the classroom, not waiting for Hermione and I. I looked over to Hermione and she shook her head, she had no idea.

Lunch was next, and we went down to the corridors, Cedric Diggory came up to us and Hermione looked at him with a twinkle in her eye. 

"Happy birthday, Rita. Heard it around school that it was your birthday- have a great day." He smiled and it sparkled right at me and Hermione. My face was flustered and so was Hermione's.

We proceeded to the Great Hall, only to find more balloons and no Ron or Harry. I looked over to the Slytherin Table, Ron was holding Draco's tie and Draco's face was turning red, whimpering at Ron. Harry was yelling discreetly, standing alongside with Ron.

Hermione and I ran over there and tried to find out what was going on. "Why did you even rip it down? Ever heard of manners, you scum!" Ron screamed, clenching his fist, he was positioned ready to punch Malfoy in the face. Harry turned his head, he saw my face, yanking Ron and they both stared at me awkwardly. 

"What happened?" I asked softly, looking at the two boys who looked awful. "Yeah, go tell her what shit her club would be." Draco laughed, and Ron turned around, his fist almost inches from his nose. But I pulled him back. 

"No." I said, pulling him back. "Malfoy, you'll be sorry." I softly said, pulling both boys back to the House table.

"He ripped the poster down on the bulletin board, Ri." Ron whispered to me, sitting down next to me. I looked at Ron then at Harry, he nodded in confirmation. 

"He'll get what he deserves. Just not on my birthday, please." I whispered back, straining to fight back my tears.

I worked hours and hours each day, trying to perfect this club and everything about it. I asked Fred and George to deliver drinks and snacks, and they filled Uncle Remus' empty classroom with it for me. 

Lavender, Parvati, Seamus and Dean all decorated it to look nice and presentable for people to come in. Uncle Remus even gave word to Dumbledore. It was all planned out, just for Malfoy to ruin it. I would never, ever forgive him.

I clenched my fork, banging against the table, taking a deep breath and kept repeating to myself, "It's okay. Deep breaths." Hermione and Harry looked worried for me. Ron bit his tongue, he didn't want to make me any more furious than I was, even though it was eating him up inside that he couldn't do anything to help.

Uncle Remus' class was right after, our moods changed slightly, and I dreaded going into the classroom across the hall right after. 

Uncle Remus, before his lesson, began to put on the music and made the whole class sing Happy Birthday for me, they clapped excitedly for me. It made me beam but blush a lot.

The moment I was so excited for, now became a nightmare. I closed my eyes as the bell rang, and I made Hermione guide me to the classroom, slowly. She accepted, pulling me into the classroom and there it was, silence. No noise at all. Just what I thought. 

"Is it safe?" I whispered, and Hermione whose voice was super high replied, "Yeah!" I opened my eyes, and there were all my friends, and even people I never even met.

Cho Chang, the whole Ravenclaw team, Cedric Diggory, the whole Hufflepuff team, and of course, the Gryffindor team, with Ron, Ginny, Percy, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Parvati.

I clapped my hand over my mouth at the packed classroom, darting to each smiling face. "But Malfoy ripped down the poster!" I gaped, still shocked at the outcome of this event that I wasn't expecting at all. 

"He ripped it down when he saw it. Harry and I went to fix it back to life." Ron replied, grinning at me. 

"You did?" I asked happily at him who nodded. "Y- You all are interested... in helping me?" I asked, my heart felt so content looking at the faces who all nodded at me. 

"You're right. Hippogriffs are lovely creatures, we saw it first hand." Dean replied, and the whole room nodded and murmured yeahs. 

"We also informed Professor Lupin on what happened, you were right; he did get what he deserved." Harry added, chuckling with Ron.

"Should have seen his face, tears ran down his face and he thought it was the end of the world. I had never seen Professor Lupin more angry than that." Ron scoffed. 

"I appreciate it. Every single one of you for coming to my club. You definitely made me way happier than I was moments ago." I sniffled, wiping my eyes again with the sleeve of my robes. 

"Okay, okay. Now; first order of business." I cleared my throat, explaining the importance of hippogriffs and the way they are and how pride is their thing. 

The first meeting was a success, everyone departed and agreed to show up for the next one, which is absolutely brilliant. The last of us, Ron, Harry, Hermione and I all raced back up to the common room with laughter filling the empty corridors.

Ron pulled me back after Harry and Hermione walked up the stairs, he handed me a small box, labeled Rita in his untidy scrawl. 

"Hope you like it. It's not a lot, but-" He said, crossing his arms and waiting for me to open. 

"If it's from you, then it means a lot." I reassured him, opening up the gift and looking inside to a cat bell. It was purple, and the bell shined gold in the light. 

"For Soupy, I know she's always roaming around, so I thought-" He said, as I flung my arms around his neck and squeezed him so tight. 

"Thank you." I said, burrowing my head into his chest. "It means a lot. I'll make sure to put it on Soupy. Goodnight, Ron." I waved goodbye, walking up the stairs to Soupy curled up on my bed. 

"Here." I whispered, taking the bell out of the box and around her neck. She meowed, and went back to sleep.

Since Black's second break-in, visiting Hagrid was way out of our alley. The safety measures imposed on students made it impossible to see him. Our only chance of talking to Hagrid was during Care of Magical Creatures lessons. He seemed numb with shock at the verdict.

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh both looked up fer me, Hermione and Rita. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em..." Hagrid said, he showed no emotion and he stood over us with despair in his eyes. 

"There's still the appeal! Don't give up yet, we're working on it!" Ron fiercely encouraged Hagrid.

"Oh, Hagrid. Please don't be mad at me, only wanted to do what I believed in-" I stammered, I stepped over a branch and almost slipped but Ron pulled me up. 

"Thank you, but, please. Hagrid, please don't be mad." I said, crossing my fingers behind my back, looking at numb Hagrid. 

"I made a club to spread around the word about mistreatment of hippogriffs." I quickly said in one breath, and Hagrid looked at me.

Oh, he's going to hit me. He's going to kill me and bury me in the Forbidden Forest. 

"Rita, Yer doin' a great thin' fer the hippogriffs. Really Proud." He blurted out, smiling like he hasn't smiled in weeks. 

"Thank you." I smiled at Hagrid, I was worried for no reason, Harry checked his watch: "It's time to wrap up class Hagrid." Hagrid waved everyone off, not even bothering to do a proper dismissal, following behind us.

We were walking back up to the castle with the rest of the castle. Ahead we could see Malfoy, who was walking ahead with Crabbe and Goyle, kept looking back at us and laughing derisively. I had it up to here with Malfoy, him ripping up my poster was the last straw.

"S'no good, Ron," said Hagrid sadly as we reached the castle, "That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that..." Hagrid turned around and hurried back toward his hut, his face buried in his handkerchief. 

"Poor Hagrid." Ron said, worriedly.

"Look at him blubber!" Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening. "Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic? And he's supposed to be our teacher!" Malfoy baffled, laughing with Goyle and Crabbe like there was some hysterical sight in front of him. 

Harry and Ron both made furious moves but Hermione and I ran past them, I tackled Malfoy, sitting on top of him and holding him by his arms on the ground and Hermione went, 'SMACK!', slapping Malfoy across the face with all the strength she could muster.

Malfoy staggered, while the boys all stood flabbergasted at the sight of two girls beating up Malfoy. Hermione raised her hand again, "Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul - you evil-" She exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowed and her hand spazzing so much. 

"Hit him again. Or I will." I hissed, holding Malfoy down, we were face to face. I was ready to punch him. 

"Hermione! Rita!" yelled Ron weakly, trying to grab both of our arms, but he got a hold of Hermione's hand, "Get off, Ron!"

I took my chance, smacking him directly into the nose.

"Rita!" Ron called out weakly, trying to grab my hand, jerking me off Malfoy and letting go of Hermione's. Hermione pulled out her wand but Malfoy stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instructions, thoroughly bewildered that two girls worked together to jump him. 

"C'mon," Malfoy muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had disappeared into the passage of dungeons.

"Hermione! Rita!" Ron said again, sounding both stunned and impressed. Ron let go of my arm, looking at me with his mouth like he was catching flies. Hermione and I exchanged a look, laughing hysterically at what we just did. 

"Team work." I said, high-fiving Hermione and we took a deep breath. My heart was beating so fast, the adrenaline felt amazing, getting Malfoy back for what he did to me.

"Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final! You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherins wins!" Hermione said shrilly, looking over to me and smiled. 

"We're due in Charms, we'd better go." Ron said, goggling at me like I was some sort of trophy. 

"If I ever need back-up in a fight, I'll make sure to call the two spider monkeys." Ron joked, making us both giggle, hurrying up the marble staircase toward Professor Flitwick's classroom. 

"You're late, boys! Oh, and Miss. Vixen?" said Professor Flitwick disappointedly as Harry opened the classroom door. 

"Come along, quickly, wands out, we're experimenting with Cheering Charms today, we've already divided into pairs but Neville doesn't have a second person? Any of you ready to pair up with Neville unless Hermione came in one of your bags?"

Ron and Harry both paired up, leaving me with Neville, sticking out their tongues and moving to the back of the classroom. 

"I'll pair with Neville." I whispered, as Flitwick went back to the head of class and I paired with Neville near Ron and Harry. 

"Where's Hermione? She was right behind me?" I whispered, leaning over to the two boys who shrugged. 

"That's weird, maybe - maybe she went to the bathroom or something?" Harry said, staring at me and Ron. Ron nodded, shruggingly. But Hermione didn't turn up at all.

I produced a well-done Cheering Charm on Neville, but he couldn't do the same for me; even though he tried very hard. 

"I'm sorry, Rita. I'm terrible." He whispered, shaking his head and staring at the floor. 

"Neville, you're not terrible. You'll get the hang of it. No worries." I smiled, rusting up his long brown hair. 

Harry however, when we went left for lunch, Harry performed the Cheering Charm on me. I felt incredible. We were all grinning broadly - the Cheering Charms left us with a feeling of great contentment.

But Hermione wasn't at lunch either, must be holding up with Time Turner. And when we were halfway done with our apple-pies, Harry and Ron's after-effects of the Cheering Charms wore off. 

They had started to get worried, but I was still feeling great contentment, singing the tune of 'No Love Lost' By Joy Division, in my head while I ate my apple pie. I was drumming on my plate, bopping my head back and forth, with the apple pie in my hand. 

Ron and Harry both watched me hear a tune in my head, humming to myself. "I need it, I need it, I need it," I hummed, pretending my half-eaten apple pie was my guitar and playing it like it was mine. "No life at all in the house of dolls, no love lost," I whispered, singing quietly to the tune of the song that was playing in my head.

"Rita." Harry nervously said, shaking my arm. "Hm?" I said, still bopping my head back and forth. 

"You don't think Malfoy did something to Hermione?" asked Ron anxiously, as he yanked me out of my seat and up the stairs. "

No, not at all. If he touches Hermione, he's going to get the daylight knocked out of him." I said, still chewing a piece of apple pie. 

"If I'm not worried, you guys shouldn't be. Now come on." I giggled, skipping up the stairs and pass the security trolls, gave the Fat Lady the password, ("Flibbertigibbet") and skipped through the portrait hole into the common room.

There was Hermione, sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an open Arithmancy book. "Now what did I say?" I said, shoving the rest of the apple pie into my mouth and smiling at the two boys. I sat next to my best friend, while Harry prodded her awake. 

The after-effects of the Cheering Charm wore off and I looked around with crumbs all over my robes. 

"W-what?" said Hermione, waking with a start and staring wildly around, "Is it time to go? W-which have we got now?" She said, looking at me and pointing at the crumbs on my robes. I wiped them off, and pursed my lips at her. 

"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes, Hermione why didn't you come to Charms?" asked Harry. 

"What? Oh no! I forgot to go to Charms!" Hermione squeaked. 

"But how could you forget? You were with us till we were right outside the classroom!" Harry said, Hermione shared a look with me. The Time Turner.

"I don't believe it! Was Professor Flitwick angry? Oh, it was Malfoy, I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!" Hermione wailed, crying into her Arithmancy book. 

"Hermione, I think you should take a break. Everyone deserves a break, and you do deserve one." I suggested, resting my arm around her. 

"You know what, Hermione?" said Ron, looking down at the enormous Arithmancy book she was using as her pillow. "I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much. You deserve a break." Ron agreed with me, trying to pull the book from under Hermione. 

"No, I'm not!" said Hermione, brushing her hair out of her eyes and staring hopelessly around for her bag. I grabbed it from under her seat, handing it over to her. 

"I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry... I'll see you in Divination!' She gathered her cluttered items, rushing out of the chair and zoomed out of the common room. 

"She needs a break." I said, watching Hermione stumble out of the portrait hole.

We decided to get a headstart to Divination, and there was Hermione, she joined us at the foot of the ladder to Professor Trelawney's classroom twenty minutes later, looking extremely harassed. 

"I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms! And I bet they come up in our exams; Professor Flitwick hinted they might!" We climbed up the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. 

"Rita on the Cheering Charms, she sang a whole song in front of the whole table, mind she can't carry a tune if her life depended on it." Ron hissed behind me, teasing me in my ear. 

"Did not." I whispered back, but Ron's chin imprinted on my shoulder. 

"So long sitting here, didn't hear the warning," Ron sang into my ear, and I pushed his head away from mine, blushing extremely.

Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white mist. The four of us sat down at the same rickety table. 

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term," Ron muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in case she was lurking nearby. 

"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry. I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my hands." Harry muttered back.

"Good day to you!" said the familiar, misty voice, and Professor Trelawney made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows, Parvati and Lavender quivered with excitement, their faces lit by the milky glow of their crystal ball. 

"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned, the fates have informed me that your examination in June will contain the Orb, and I am anxious to give sufficient practice." Professor Trelawney said, sitting with her back to the fire and gazing around. 

"Well, no duh." I whispered, leaning down on the table so neither Parvati and Lavender who were in love with Professor Trelawney, or Professor Trelawney's third eye were advancing on us. Hermione snorted, and Ron and Harry fought back their laughter.

"But Rita, honestly... 'the fates have informed her'... but who sets the exam? She does! What an amazing prediction!" she said, not troubling to keep her voice low. Harry and Ron choked back their laughter, while I clapped my hand over my mouth. 

"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art, I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and external eyes,"

\- Ron began to laugh uncontrollably, stuffing his fist into his mouth to stifle the noise, which made me snicker, - 

"so as to clear the Inner Eye and the superconscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will See before the end of class." I looked into the misty white crystal ball, the misty white glow gleamed onto my face, while Ron held his head up with his arm, trying to see anything.

Ron kept breaking into silent giggles, while Hermione kept tutting, both into my ears. It was quiet, the silence spoke for itself. Not the usual comfortable ambience in the common room or in Uncle Remus' class, but one I would usually feel in Professor Snape's class. 

I tried to make anything out of the white glittery veil in front of me, but it was no use. Even my crazy imagination couldn't help me. After a quarter of an hour, of several glances from one another and breaking into giggles, Harry broke the silence.

"Seen anything yet?" asked Harry. 

"Yeah, there's a burn on this table, someone's spilled their candle." Ron pointed out a weird burn mark on the white table cloth. 

"I don't even think I could make anything up if she comes over here." I said, still staring at the flowing white mist in the Orb. 

"This is such a waste of time," Hermione hissed, "I could be practicing something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms-" Professor Trelawney rustled past. 

"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?" she murmured over the clinking of her bangles. 

"I don't need help, it's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight." Ron whispered, causing Harry, Hermione and I to burst out laughing.

"Now, really!" said Professor Trelawney as everyone's heads turned in our direction. Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized. 

"You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" She approached our table and peered into our crystal ball. If she mentions that god damn grim, most definitely she will- 

"There is something here!" Professor Trelawney whispered, lowering her face to the ball, so that it was reflected twice in her huge glasses. 

"Something moving... but what is it?" It's the Grim, I thought to myself... 

"My dear..." Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Harry. - she's going to say it, I thought to myself - 

"It is here, plainer than ever before... my dear, stalking toward you, growing ever closer... the Gr"- I knew it. 

"Oh, for goodness sake! Not that ridiculous Grim again!" Hermione said loudly. Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. 

I watched Parvati and Lavender whisper, glaring right at Hermione. Professor Trelawney stood up, surveying Hermione with unmistakable anger.

"I am sorry to say that from the moment you arrived in this, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane." There was a moment of silence, Harry, Ron and I all exchanged a look. What was Hermione going to do? 

"Fine!" said Hermione suddenly, getting up and cramming Unfogging the Future back into her bag. "Fine!" she repeated, swinging her bag over her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off his chair. 

"I give up! I'm leaving!" And to my amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight.

"Well, she was bound to drop one class or another. Better it'd be this one, since she doesn't even like Divination anyway." I shrugged, watching Hermione's bushy hair disappear into the floor. 

"Yeah. At least she'll have a break now." Harry sighed, gripping his book and turned to Professor Trelawney who turned away from our table, breathing heavily as she tugged her gauzy shawl more closely to her. 

"Ooooo!" said Lavender suddenly, making everyone start. "Ooooooooo, Professor Trelawney, I've just remembered! You saw her leaving, didn't you? Didn't you, Professor? 'Around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever!' You said it ages ago, Professor!" Professor Trelawney gave her a dew smile. 

"I guess 'the fates' were right about this one." Ron whispered, rolling his eyes and pursing his lips. Not even paying attention to the rest of Lavender's heart eyes for Professor Trelawney, I stared into the crystal ball. 

Could the ball tell me anything? Maybe I do have the Sight as Professor Trelawney said before, ages ago. I stared into the swirling white mist, there was nothing there at all.

The Easter holidays were not even remotely relaxing, we had never had so much homework. Neville was probably minutes away from a nervous collapse as usual, but he wasn't the only one. 

"Call this a holiday! The exams are ages away, what're they playing at?" Seamus roared at the common room. 

But nobody had as much to do as Hermione. Even without Divination, she was taking more subjects than anybody else. Always the last to the common room at night, first to arrive at the library the next morning; she had shadows under her eyes just like Remus, and seemed constantly close to tears.

Ron and I have nonstop reading countless books of hippogriffs, for both my sake and Hagrid's, but that was only when we weren't finishing our work, we were poring over enormously thick volumes with names like 'The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology' and 'Fowl or Foul? A study of Hippogriff Brutality', the two of us were so absorbed into reading, that we didn't say a single word to anyone other than each other.

The night before the match, everyone was up, making a great amount of noise that couldn't even make us focus. 

"I can't work, I can't concentrate," Hermione said nervously, smacking her books on the table in front of her. There was so much noise, Fred and George were dealing with pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever.

Oliver Wood crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner, prodding little figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself. 

Angelina, Alicia, Katie were laughing extra hard at Fred's and George's jokes. The four of us were crowded together along the couch, removed from the center of things, trying to not think about tomorrow.

My stomach clenched as I thought about what was tomorrow, me, flying, nope. If I continue now, I'll vomit my breakfast. Harry and I shared a look of extreme worriedness. 

"You're both going to be fine." Hermione told us, though she looked positively terrified. 

"You both are superb members of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and you're both third years! Harry's got a Firebolt! And you've got your swiftness!' Ron encouraged us. 

"Yeah..." Harry said, as his stomach made a weird noise. "Hope so." I whimpered, biting my nails nervously. 

It came as a relief when Wood suddenly stood up and yelled "Team! Bed!"

But Ron and I stayed up, the warm common room fire blaring on our faces, also used as a light to brighten the room so we could read our books, we were covered in blankets and sitting on throw pillows under our behinds to make us comfortable. 

I stayed up so late reading about 'Fowl or Foul? A study of Hippogriff Brutality' taking in everything so I could help spread awareness around Hogwarts. Ron, whenever he found something in his book, he wrote it down on a stick note, and stuck it right on the page I was reading. 

"Thanks." I grinned, placing the sticky note near the rest of the pile that was covering the cover; front and back. The night breeze grazed against our skin, making me shiver quite a bit. 

I rested my head on Ron's shoulder, my body covered in a blanket, I swear I look like E.T. I took a deep breath, staring at the crackling fire that stood in front of us. 

"Quidditch, HALO, Hagrid, Exams, Homework; there's so many things going on in my life, no, our lives, but yet right now. I feel completely fine, do you feel that too?" I softly whispered, shifting my body a bit closer to Ron's for extra warmth. 

"I do." He softly replied, resting his on mine. 10 minutes passed... the two of us stayed in that position, listening to fire crack and change into ombre of red to orange and then orange to red. 

It was calming, even though everything could be going terribly wrong and I felt I needed to be here. Ron had to yank me out of my drowsiness, dragging me up the stairs and dropped me off at my dormitory.

The next morning I jumped out of my bed, it was my nerves waking me up and Soupy's bell ringing in my ear. 

I sat up in bed, staring directly at the bright sun shining down onto my bed. Placing my hand on my heart, I closed my eyes and placed my other hand on the bracelet, "It's okay. Deep breaths." I repeated, shutting my eyes and taking deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling. 

This was all up to us, this was our shot of beating the Slytherin team and winning the House Cup for the first time since Ron's older brother Charlie was Seeker on the Gryffindor team. I slowly removed my blankets off my body, sliding off my bed and into the bathroom. 

Removing my pyjamas, I slipped on the red-and-yellow striped jumper along with trousers and my Quidditch boots. 

I placed my contacts in, to get that right out of the way. I needed to wear my contacts, my glasses would have gotten in the way and the sun would have shined and impair my vision. 

I slicked my hair into a curly burgundy ponytail, but my bangs fell out, drooping at my temples. I ran out of the bathroom, and a loud, hearty knock came from outside the girl's dormitory, and a sudden voice which muffled,

"Rita, let's get moving." Wood chirped, waiting for me to hurry up out of the room.

I snatched my broom, "All right, I'm coming." I said, petting Soupy goodbye, flicking her bell as if it were going to give me luck.

The rest of the team was assorted in our matching Quidditch jumpers and uniform trousers and boots, and set off with my broom clenched inside of my palms, I was nervous. 

Entering the Great Hall, to enormous applause, a smile grew on my face. I waved from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables as they all were shouting and cheering for us. 

The Slytherin table hissed loudly as we passed, and I laughed at their obnoxious mutters. Wood spent the whole breakfast urging all of us to eat, while touching nothing himself. 

Then he hurried us off to the field before anyone else had finished, so we could 'get an idea of the conditions.' as Oliver declared to us. 

And when we left the Great Hall, everyone broke out into applause. Striding out of the Great Hall and through the entrance hall doors, Wood kept muttering and making weird hand signals in the air. Wood paced the field, staring around with us following hopelessly behind him. 

And soon enough, the front doors of the castle opened in the distance and the rest of the school spilled onto the lawn. "Locker rooms." said Wood tersely.

None of us spoke as we all changed into our scarlet robes, I flung open my mirror and my necklace flashed. 

"Knock them dead! Not literally, just figuratively! XOXO Mum and Dad," I laughed at the sudden occurrence, placing my hand along the writing but it soon disappeared while Wood exclaimed, 

"Okay, it's time, let's go-" We walked out onto the field to a tidal wave of noise, three quarters of the crowd were wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP!" 

And behind the Slytherin goalposts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, a friend of mine and the usual commentator during Quidditch games. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Vixen, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-" 

Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of 'boos' from the Slytherin end. "And here comes the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill-" 

More 'boos' from the Slytherin side resurfaced, but I took a glance at the Slytherins. They were rather all big, and muscular and compared to Malfoy, they were giants. 

"Captains, shake hands!" Announced Madam Hooch, approaching the field and calling the two to greet one another. They grasped each other's hands very tightly; it looked as though each were trying to break the other's fingers. 

"Mount your brooms!" said Madam Hooch as my heart beat intensified at three words.

"Three... two... one..." The whistle blew and got lost in the air from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. 

I felt my hair fly back and out of my forehead, the air hit my face so gently, I felt the adrenaline rush through my body. My nerves left and now I was in the thrill of the game. The Quaffle flew through the air, I zoomed so slyly on my broom beneath the Slytherin Chaser's feet and caught the Quaffle. 

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Rita Vixen of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Rita!" announced Lee, smiling down on the big screen that was behind him, I beamed back and Warrington yanked the Quaffle out of my hand. I flew behind him in the air and saw Angelina right beside me. 

"Argh, no - Quaffle intercepted by Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field - WHAM! -"

George, who was advancing right behind us, smacked a Bludger right into Warrington and Angelina caught the Quaffle. I flew around, making sure any other Chaser wasn't tailing. 

"- Nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by - Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina - nice swerve around Montague - duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! - SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!" Screamed Lee throughout the crowd.

Angelina soared around, punching her fist in the air; the sea of scarlet beneath us, screaming in delight

I smiled, soaring over to Angelina, but a broom went smashing into her, she was hit by Marcus Flint. "Sorry!" said Flint as the crowd below booed. "Sorry, didn't see her!" And a second later, Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head.

Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed. "That will do!" shrieked Madam Hooch, zooming between all of us, I watched her shout, "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser! Rita, come." Madam Hooch zoomed towards me, gesturing for me to take the penalty shot. 

"Come off it, miss!" howled Fred, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle and I zoomed forward to take the penalty.

I flew forward, gripping the Quaffle in my hand, my heart started to pump faster by the second. I turned around, there was Fred and Angelina smiling at me, then I turned to the scarlet sea of cheers all shouting my name. 

"RITA!" they chanted my name, calming down my nerves a bit. 

"Come on, Rita!" yelled Lee into the silence that had descended into the crowd.

I threw it with all my might, and it flew right under the Keeper's underarm. 

The cheers exploded, "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!" Lee yelled, echoing through the stadium and my heart beat pumped, the adrenaline once again shot through my body.

Fred and Angelina both cheered behind me, twirling around on their brooms. Harry swooshed behind me, and hugged me, "Brilliant!" he chuckled, as we watched Marcus Flint fly forward to take the Slytherin penalty.

Wood was facing in front of the Gryffindor goalposts, his jaw clenched. "'Course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee told the crowd, as Harry and I shared a look of anxiousness. 

"Superb! Very difficult to pass - very difficult indeed -" and just when Lee said that, Wood smacked the Quaffle away from our goal post - "YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!" and the game resumed, we all raced around back into the game groove.

I was swerving around from Bludgers that were pelting at me, Fred came to rescue and smacked it back where it came from. 

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession - no! - Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field - Katie Bell flew past me, my hair all flying back as she struck up towards the Slytherin goalpost - 

"THAT WAS DELIBERATE!" Lee screamed. Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie and instead of seizing the Quaffle had grabbed her head. "

GET OFF OF HER! YOU SLIMY CHEATER!" I yelled at Montague, smacking the handle of my broom out of pure anger. Katie cartwheeled in the air, managing to stay on her broom but dropped the Quaffle.

Madam Hooch's whistle rang put again as she soared over Montague and began shouting at him. These dirty cheaters, it was obvious they wanted to win but by hurting each of us on the team. Katie put another penalty past the Slytherin Keeper. 

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING-" Lee shouted into the microphone, clenching it so hard. "Jordan, if you can't commentrate in an unbiased way-!" She must have given him a look. 

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!" Narrowing my eyes, I saw a faint vibration of gold, the Snitch. Harry saw it too, he blasted straight past me, Malfoy went haring after him, he tried to trick Malfoy and pull toward the Slytherin end; which worked.

Just then, Angelina passed me the Quaffle, and a few Bludgers flew toward Harry. Angelina flew around the group of Slytherin Chasers, I was the fastest and swiftiest Chaser, I knew what I had to do. Holding the Quaffle tight in my arms, I flashed between them and launched the Quaffle to Angelina. 

"Ha haaa! Too bad boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in possession again, Vixen passed the Quaffle over to Johnson - Flint alongside her - poke him in the eye, Angelina! - it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke - oh no - Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goalposts, come on now, Wood, save - FUCKING HELL!"

But Flint had scored; an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him. I laughed at the sight, but clenched my broom even harder as the Slytherin end boasted over 10 points.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession, Vixen-" I snatched the Quaffle, blasting upwards, away from the Chasers. Bole advanced on me, smacking me in the face with his club.

"Fuck you, Bole." I pushed his stupid club away from my head, and I rubbed my head severely. 

Boos from the Gryffindor end roared throughout the stadium, George wasn't standing for it. He dashed towards us, elbowing Bole in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the score forty-ten to Gryffindor.

I gained the Quaffle again, spiraling around the set of Chasers and Beaters that were following me, Katie yelled "RITA!" and I threw it over to her. 

She managed to catch it, scoring us another 10 points making us 50 to 10. Fred and George came in front of her, protecting her with their clubs raised.

Bole and Fredrick took advantage of Fred and George's absence and aimed both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after another, he rolled in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.

Madam Hooch came in front of Wood, brick red. "YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" she shrieked at Bole and Derrick, she was so enraged. "Gryffindor penalty!" Angelina went up and scored, Sixty to ten.

Warrington caught the Quaffle, holding it with all his might. Advancing on him, I looked around, trying to make up a plan on how to snake it out of his arms. Do I fly under him and snatch it from his arm? Should I hit him with my broom so he drops it out of his grasp? Just as I questioned any possibilities, Fred swatted a Bludger at Warrington, resulting in him releasing the Quaffle. 

Flipping into the air and grabbing the Quaffle, my heart beating far out of my chest. I couldn't believe that I got a hold of the Quaffle by doing a flip in the air. 

Lee screamed so loudly that even the crowd was shocked. I threw it right into the goal post, seventy to ten. The sea of scarlet screamed so wildly, I was grinning ear to ear. We could win this, I thought to myself.

The Gryffindor crowd below was screaming itself hoarse - Gryffindor was sixty points the lead, and if Harry caught the Snitch now, the cup was ours. I watched Harry, along with the crowd, still trying to focus on myself and keep myself away from any Bludgers. 

Malfoy grabbed onto Firebolt's tail, Harry was horrified. Malfoy pulled it back and Harry muttered words I couldn't make out. Malfoy's eyes sparkling maliciously, panting while putting all his effort on holding onto the Firebolt.

I swear Harry looked extremely mad, he could have punched Draco in the face, I would have applauded him. I couldn't believe my eyes, this was the dirtiest game I've ever participated in.

My blood started to boil, Draco wanted to ruin everything that made us happy. He's so extremely lucky that we're here, in the air. My hands were shaking, or else I would have ripped the blond off his forehead. 

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!" Madam Hooch screeched, shouting up to where Malfoy was sliding back onto his Nimbus Two Thousand and One. 

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING BITCH!" Lee bellowed, I waited for Professor McGonagall to grab it from him, but she didn't. 

She was actually shaking her finger in Malfoy's direction, her hat fell off, and she too was shouting furiously. Madam Hooch just waved her hand in my direction, telling me to go on with the penalty. 

I was furious, I couldn't even focus on the Quaffle going into the goalpost. I looked down at my hands, shaking like crazy. I squinted at the goal post and the Keeper who tried to look tough and hardcore, I couldn't even make up a nasty remark at him. I was so mad. 

I held the Quaffle in my hand, the other gripping tightly on the broom, both still shaking, I threw the Quaffle out of my hands, several feet away from the goal post.

I screamed, beating up the handle of my broomstick. I smacked my broom, I felt my heart sinking to my stomach. We needed to win this Cup, everything was leading up to it. Endless, countless fights with Draco and all of my friends; we needed to win this.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for the goal - Montague scores - Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor..." Lee groaned, rolling his eyes. The whole Gryffindor team was losing concentration. Harry, however, was marking Malfoy near the Snitch. Malfoy was yelling inaudible at Potter, and Angelina acquired the Quaffle.

"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!" Every Slytherin player struck past me, flowing right towards Angelina, even the Slytherin Keeper - they were going to block her - And Harry wheeled the Firebolt around, bent low and shot toward the Slytherins. 

"AAAAAAARGH!" he yelled. They all scattered as the Firebolt blasted towards them and Angelina was clear. "YES!" I squealed, balancing myself on my broom and clapping my hand over my mouth in amazement. She scored. 

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty points to twenty!" Lee exclaimed through the magical megaphone, bobbing up and down in the crowd.

And for a quick second I saw the Snitch. There was Malfoy, diving with a look of triumph on his face. I spun my broom around, exclaiming right at Harry. 

"GET ON WITH IT!" I yelled, fluttering my hands up and down towards Malfoy. Harry urged the Firebolt downward, but Malfoy was miles ahead. He was gaining on Malfoy, though, Bole struck a Bludger at him - he was right at his ankles - he was level. 

I crossed my fingers together, forcing myself to watch Harry, hopefully, catch the Snitch. Harry threw himself forward, taking both hands off his broom, he knocked Malfoy's arm out of the way and - "YES!"

He shot his hand in the sky, and the sea of scarlet exploded. Harry soared above the crowd, and the Snitch was stuck inside his cramped hands. The whole team zoomed towards Harry, Wood's face was streaming with tears. He seized Harry's neck and sobbed unrestrainedly into his shoulder. 

Then Fred and George hit Harry, and Angelina, Katie, and I all exclaimed: "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" I flew toward Harry, and we were all entangled by many arms. We sank, yelling hoarsely, and we fell slowly, back to earth. 

Waves upon waves of crimson supporters were pouring over the barriers onto the field. Hands were smacking everyone, pressed bodies all closing in to get a peek at us.

Then, a moment later, I was hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd alongside the rest of my team. "WE DID IT!" I squealed so excitedly, and the whole team roared, punching their fists in the air. There was Hagrid, plastered with crimson rosettes - "Yeh beat 'em. Harry, yeh beat 'em! Wait till I tell Buckbeak!" And there was Percy, jumping up and down like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. 

Professor McGonagall was sobbing even harder than Wood, wiping her eyes with an enormous Gryffindor flag: and there, I could spot the bushy hair and fiery red hair a mile away, fighting their way toward Harry and I were Ron and Hermione. Words failed them. 

They simply beamed as we were borne toward the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup. Flashes of light were struck from different directions in the crowd, we all got down from everyone's shoulder and stood beside Dumbledore. Wood held the cup, sobbing uncontrollably. 

I smiled so widely, a real genuine smile with my sweaty, beet red face cheesing up beside Dumbledore and my teammates. Another flash, and another picture was taken, my smile getting wider and wider.


	13. ending the year off with a bang

"We won! We won!" I repeated, twirling around in circles around the House tables, grinning widely at all the supporters with scarlet rosettes. There was a sort of happiness that filled the air since we won, it's all I needed for my school days to be even brighter than they were before. 

This was the last day that I could let loose and enjoy all the glory from defeating the Slytherins, then it was back to making another notice about my club, HALO. I danced around the House tables, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and lastly Gryffindor.

Nobody questioned my euphoric dancing, I was living happily so why would they even bother to kill my mood right now? By dancing, I meant spinning around like a ballerina and waving to the three House tables.

Cedric Diggory's smiles shined when I circled around his table, Cho Chang waved back and congratulated me. I returned back to the Gryffindor table, jumping feet first into my seat next to Harry. 

"I swear this is the second best thing that I've ever experienced. First is music, obviously." I gloated, picking up a piece of chicken that I cut up before I decided to dance around. Ron's eyes were goggling at me, his eyes twinkled, he was so impressed that we had won the Quidditch Cup.

The Quidditch Cup was in the middle of the House table, it shimmered like it was covered in glitter. It looks so magical.

"Malfoy is grieving like his cat died. It's pleasing to watch." Ron said, grabbing the drumstick in his hand and taking a chomp out of it. 

"Serves him right. The way he was tailing on me," Harry rolled his eyes and blew out a lip raspberry. "Pathetic." Harry said, shrugging. 

"They played dirty. Bole even hit me with his club." I added, rubbing the back of my head. 

"Still in one piece, and we've got the Cup! They could grieve all they want but we're gloating! Slytherins can suck a fat one." Ron added, trying to look on the brighter sides of things. 

"Thank god we acquired it, I don't think I could even dwell on the idea of Slytherin winning..." Hermione said, raising her eyebrows. 

"Whatever, like Ron said: they can suck a fat one. We've got the Cup, that's god damn straight." I giggled, plopping another piece of chicken into my mouth. 

Fred slid down the benches, bumping right into Harry. Fred laughed hysterically watching Harry jump out of his skin after getting hit so unexpectedly. I laughed at Harry's brightened red face until a crashing hit my side and my face smashed into Harry's shoulder. George's laughs boomed into my ear, tugging me back upwards. 

"Sorry, Ri. Fred and I were playing 'Bump the Lower Classmen'" George said, reaching over my head and slapped Fred's hand for a high-five. 

"Successfully have done it today, Georgie. Got two special ones too," He muttered devilishly, his cheeks crinkling into an evil smirk. 

"You're wanted elsewhere. Sorry Ickle Ronniekins, Granger. We did win the House Cup." George giggled, snaking his arm around mine. "So I do think that means, we are the Kings and Queens of Gryffindor for now. First order of rule, taking the two third years and taking them with us." Fred prattled, taking Harry's wrist and pulled him out of the table.

"I'll see you later then, meet us in the common room?" Hermione asked, biting her lip and looking at Fred with resentful eyes. 

"See you." Harry said, getting dragged out of ear shot. "Same goes with you." Hermione groaned, rolling her eyes at George. 

"See you then," I shrugged, George tugged me away from the table and ran away from my two friends. Fred was way ahead of us, he ran out of the Great Hall and seemed as if a bunch of older Gryffindors were following along.

"Are you inviting me to some sort of upperclassmen cult?" I questioned George, looking at the back of his moving ginger head. 

"Don't ask questions! You'll spoil the fun with those." he laughed, pulling me out of the Great Hall and into the bright corridors. The sun was shining through the windows and cutouts around the entrance hall, Fred and Harry ran through the shaded areas and dashed up the marble staircase. 

"Feel bad not letting you know, Ri. So, I'll give you some knowledge: The trick is, you don't want any of us to be seen. That's why Harry and Fred ran through the shade." George hinted, winking at me like that made me realize anything. 

"Georgie, I don't quite understand-" I began to say, then George pulled me through the shade and up the marble staircase. 

"You'll understand when we get there. We just discovered it too." he smirked and went up to Gryffindor Tower with me running beside.

"But why did you only invite Harry and I? I do understand not inviting Hermione in case she threatens to grass but what about Ron?" I asked George and he put a finger over his lips as we stepped into the common room. 

"Hear that?" he questioned, looking around the room with a cheeky grin on his face. I looked around the room, trying to listen to anything I could pick up. But there was nothing. 

"No." I bluntly said, my lips narrowing and I looked to the side. 

"Exactly." He said, walking over to a large, dusty old bookcase that nobody in the Gryffindor House has ever touched. I followed him, my arms crossed against my chest, I was kind of interested.

"Lee actually discovered this today, after the game. We were playing a round of Gobstones, he hates the putrid goo that squirts out so before it shot at him, he smacked right into this very book. There was a loud clunk, and the whole entire shelf moved, revealing a pair of red iron doors with a lion crested in the middle. We went inside and, well, you'll see." He explained, pointing at a very irregular book that had its cover page ripped off. He pulled the book, there was the loud clunk. It sounded like a few gears were shifting into a different position. Then revealed the door, the very same door he talked about.

"Since you guys really won't be lower classmen anymore and you two are on the Quidditch team; we decided to expand our hangout on to you guys since you lot will be fourth years soon. This is mostly where we just go to hang out without the ickle first, second, and third years hanging around. We still enjoy the common room, but when we're bored; we'll go here." George wiggled his eyebrows, waiting for me to say anything. 

"Wicked." I said, raising my eyebrows and approached the iron door. I traced the lion with the tip of my finger and was quite impressed.

I turned back around to George, "Are we not allowed to inform any of the third years until next year?" I questioned. 

"Yeah. It's a special occasion that you're even allowed to be here too, you and Harry are going to spend the night with us, and then never again until next year. That's just how it is when you're a third year." George cackled, pushing my shoulder back. I rolled my eyes at him. 

With one push, the door opened and the music from inside echoed throughout the common room. I stared at the flashing red lights that illuminate my face, and George pushed me in, shutting the door behind us. Another clunk was heard, and the room was hidden again.

The room was similar to the Gryffindor common room, except there were a lot more cozy couches, an enormous fireplace with a dark oak mantle that was empty, lights that flashes red and yellow like it was a place for people to come to to dance; there was music booming through record players that looked like white lilies. 

There were a bunch of games lined up against the walls, but they looked like some sort of machines. There were bright neon colors, kind of like a rainbow and flashed lights. I scanned the room, it looked like an arcade. "You haven't even seen the best part yet." Fred said, stepping into my eye-view.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and moved my head to where he pointed. "Those things. They dispense butterbeer." He smiled, and I looked at him with astonishment. "This is so cool. And you're free to come whenever you like?" I asked. 

"Not particularly, this is actually the Gryffindor Tower secret. We're not allowed to come continuously, only when we have an actual reason to celebrate or get away. It's sort of like The Room of Requirement in some aspects but I believe it only opens when there's some sort of achievement awarded to our House." George added, speaking directly into my ear. 

"Pretty sure all of the Houses have a Secret. It just takes the students of each House a certain skill to achieve it. I bet my skill was being incredibly attractive." Fred said in my other ear. "Well, I guess we'll just find out by ourselves." Lee came into the conversation, running over to squeeze me.

"I never got to congratulate you, ickle Ri!" he said, spinning me around. I laughed and held tight onto his back, he really was skinny but very strong. "Thank you, Lee." I giggled and he let me down, squeezing my cheeks. 

"You still got your baby chubby! How adorable." He said, pushing my cheeks together, making me look like a fish. I laughed again, pushing Lee's hands off my face and searched the room for Harry.

There were some of the Quidditch girls in the middle of the room, dancing in a group circle with more upperclassmen that I never saw before. Angelina waved frantically at me, urging for me to come. I loved Angelina Johnson with my whole heart. When I first joined the Quidditch team, she instantly took me under her wing. 

Ever since then she acted like a big sister to me, always caring and making time to talk to me. She was also stunning, no wonder the twins and Lee were flaunting over her. I waved back and walked towards her, she pulled me in the middle of the dance circle and the circle screamed. 

"This is Rita Vixen, you know her, on the Quidditch team. She is pretty shy but she's such a sweetheart." Angelina introduced me, pulling my back towards her, and showing me off to all her friends. I awkwardly smiled and waved a little. Katie gasped, stretching her arms out for me. She squeezed me, and I spun her around and snuck out of the circle. Where's Harry?

Harry popped out of nowhere, holding two bottles of butterbeer and a bright smile on his face. "There you are!" I said, accepting the drink he gave to me. "I was checking out the whole room, it's brilliant." He slurped his butterbeer, foam surrounding his mouth. 

"Truly. Don't you think it's mad that there's secrets we haven't discovered yet?" I asked, feeling the warmth from the butterbeer growing up my arms. 

"No. It's only our third year, we're bound to see more sooner or later." Harry shrugged, he was right. I guess I was just bewildered from the fact that there was another room in the common room. Wood jumped onto the largest round table that settled in the room, holding a bottle of butterbeer and cleared his throat loudly. 

"I'd like to make a toast for my fellow Quidditch team for winning the championship and allowing this room to open up!" screamed Wood, throwing his drink in the air and some fell down on top of his head. Harry and I exchanged a look, we were both trying to hold back our laughter. 

"To the Gryffindor Quidditch Team!" yelled Wood. Fred, George, Angelina, Katie all put up butterbeers and cheered. Harry and I held ours high and cheered along with them.

The night was filled with machine playing, I was actually a beast or that's what Lee said, at the machine game. It was called 'pinball', Weird; dancing, and me belting out songs in Harry's ears. 

Soon after the night came to an end, Harry got a feeling that Ron and Hermione were getting worried. Fred pulled Harry and I aside and told us to tell them we were having one last gathering as a team to wish Wood's Quidditch skills for his beloved Gryffindor team goodbye. 

Wood said he needed to do this or else all his good fortune would go to waste. It made me blush extremely, Wood was such a hard worker and seeing him all nice and warm was such a different sight.. We gave Wood one last hug and swung open the iron doors without making a peep. 

There was a clunk behind us, and the door was shut again. Nobody in the common room seemed to even turn and look at what that loud noise was, I was actually surprised. "They can't know so let's sneak over to the portrait hole and walk in." I whispered to Harry, he nodded.

The two of us crawled under tables and legs of chairs all the way to the entrance. Once we got into the passage, Harry pulled me up. "Make noise so they can look." I said, nudging his shoulder. 

"That was so much fun!" Harry screamed, carefully walking out of the passage and into the common room. That's when all the heads turned. Ron and Hermione turned and Ron forced a smile. I skipped over to my two friends, beaming at their faces that I missed. "Hello, my lovely friends." I said, sitting in the space between them. 

"Where'd you go?" asked Ron, pursing his lips and raising an eyebrow at us. I wanted to tell Ron, I really did, but they told me I couldn't. 

"We went outside, they're still partying though. We were having one last gathering as a team since we did win the big championship." Harry butted in, smiling down at Ron. 

"Glad you had fun." Ron said, "I was stuck reading about hippogriffs while you lot were getting it on." He shrugged and handed me the book. 

"Want to stay up later and figure out your next lesson?" he asked, his blue eyes staring at me, I'm mesmerized. "Yeah," I muttered, still staring in his eyes as they crinkled, he was smiling.

Hermione hadn't said a word, she was busy working on her exams that were two months away. But she's taking way more classes than I am, guess that's reasonable. Ron and Harry decided to play wizard's chess, and if Ron loses, he'll be in a terrible mood when they're done. 

I sat alone, watching the two boys play a round of wizard chess. But my mind took me off course. Should I be worrying about exams? Or should I take one thing at a time? I thought to myself, playing with my thumbs in my lap.

"Take that, Ron!" yelled Harry laughing and waiting for Ron's next move. He muttered something, and a chess piece moved and attacked one of Harry's chess pieces. "Aha!" laughed Ron.

What should I do for HALO? Should I start by making signs and yelling at everyone in the Great Hall? Or should I wait for that and educate them more? My mind filled with questions, I was so confused on what to do. But thankfully, Quidditch was over and I had more time to settle new club meetings and gather more information for Hagrid's appeal. I was so determined to help Hagrid and Buckbeak, I don't want to lose hope. 

I looked over to the side, Ron was punching a fist in the air. He won. "Of course." Harry sighed, jumping next to me and huffing. 

"The King of Wizard's Chess." I joked with a wide grin on my face. 

"What can I say?" Ron flaunted, shrugging and acting smug. 

Harry looked at the time, "Blimey, it's late. Ron, you coming?" Harry asked, getting up from beside me and flattening out his clothes. 

"Later." He pursed his lips, waving away. Hermione tutted, grabbing her stuff and rearranged them away from us. 

"Stop tutting, lunatic." Ron snapped back, scrunching his eyes at her. 

I smacked Ron's arm, "Focus." I said.

I sank back into the couch with the book raised by my hands under it. My mind fluttered back to my original thoughts. I shouldn't start the big Great Hall mess just yet, kind of seems weird though. Out of my comfort zone, I thought. Focus, Rita. I didn't have enough time, so, right before exams, it'll be my time to speak the truth.

"Hey, Ron." I blurted out, if I wanted to do anything; I would want my best friend to be the judge. He looked up from the book that was cupped in his hands, directing his eyes to me. 

"Let's say... Right before exams... in the Great Hall... before the teachers arrive - HALO - or just me- make an announcement in the Great Hall about spreading awareness for hippogriffs?" I awkwardly said, moving my lips side to side. 

"That doesn't sound half bad." Ron admitted. "Are you sure you can stand up and talk to the whole school? Of course, the idea's brilliant, but will you be able to do it? Ritakins, you know I'm your best friend, I just want to make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew. You do tend to dream a bit."

He bit his lip, looking a bit regretful. I took a deep breath, he read my thoughts exactly. I don't usually tend to go outside of my comfort zones sometimes. 

"Yeah, I get it." I replied, nodding at him. "But when I decided to take my views and start a club that revolved around them, breaking out of my shell was one of them." I said, biting my lip. 

"Then it's done!" clapped Ron, "I honestly don't know what's gotten into you lately. First, you stood up to Malfoy, then you've won continuous Quidditch games, and then you started a club, you beat up Malfoy and you won the Quidditch Cup for the whole Gryffindor House." Ron pointed out, his eyes staring directly at me, he's staring in awe of me.

"I guess I'm growing up. Girls do grow up way faster than boys." I giggled, shrugging at him with a smug look. 

"Maybe so, but your emotions always are dodgy and overwhelming. You could cry over a little salamander breathing out fire and burning your face!" Ron threw his hands up in defense, and I nudged his shoulder. 

"Not my fault, you don't know what goes through my head. All you do is make jokes and eat!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air and sticking my tongue out at him. He stuck his tongue out at me and stuck up his middle finger. I scoffed at him, looking over to Hermione who was snorting into her book. 

"Well, thank you for being the entertainment tonight. I'm off, Rita?" Hermione giggled, pulling her bag over her shoulder and cradling two huge books. 

"I'll tag along. See you tomorrow, Weasley." I waved, snatching the book and leaning close to Ron's face. I stuck my tongue out in his face, and he stuck his tongue out at me. I shook my head at him, laughing at our stupidity and up the stairs with Hermione.

After a long school day, I skipped my way to HALO with a huge branch of new confidence. The same crowd as last time turned up, Wood even was starting to grow some hair. I began explaining even more in depth about how badly hippogriffs get treated during the past years and how that is so cruel to these poor animals. 

"Hippogriffs are animals too." I sincerely said, darting from each of the faces. I even introduced the idea of us giving a huge announcement before finals in the Great Hall, they were all for it. 

It was all due to my persuasiveness, Harry asked if Tom Riddle overcame my body. The answer is obviously no.

It was a week after our meeting, the four of my friends and I decided to hang out along the courtyard and take in the sunny, bright days that were beginning to come. 

Harry and Ron ran around the courtyard, exploring it and finding weird leaves and flowers and giving it to me and Hermione for some reason. 

The air flew through me and Hermione's hair and we watched the Black Lake shimmer gracefully. The air breeze against my cardigan, it actually felt so pleasant. We weren't the only people who decided to take advantage of the warm day. Draco and his goons were by the big tree, laughing and snickering while staring at Hermione and I.

"Look at Potter and Weasley! Them picking flowers for the girls like little sissies!" Draco shouted in the air and caused his friends to all blow up into a bubble of laughter. I immediately ran up to Malfoy and pushed him off the tree. 

"The only loser here is you, Draco!" I shouted in his face. 

"She's hurt me!" He whined dramatically, darting between the group of people with an evil smile. One of his goons pulled him up, and they all snarled.

"Wouldn't it be funny if you soon were a rodent? " He laughed, pointing his wand directly at me. 

"I don't believe you can do it." I mocked him as he lifted his wand, dodging me. 

"And what if I proved you wrong, Rita Weasel? You and your blood traitor boyfriend don't even need to worry about changing surnames, since you will be a long, furry, lanky weasel." Draco teased, sucking his teeth and backing away from me with a smug look.

"Draco Malfoy, you are the biggest wimp I've ever seen. Countless arguments we've been in, made so many life-threatening remarks but you never... ever... seem to act on it. Are you really that scared that Mummy and Daddy won't be able to get you out of that one?" I retorted, shrugging with a relentless look on my face. 

"At least my Mum and Dad are around. Not like others." Draco hit a soft spot. Hermione's face shot right at Malfoy. 

"How dare you! You truly are a selfish, arrogant, disgraceful child!" she screamed while advancing on him, her veins popping out of her neck. Draco's lips narrowed and his eyes stared right into Hermione's soul. 

"You're the sissy, Malfoy." Harry spoke up, strutting up beside me with a brick red Ron. 

"Malfoy loves to make threats but he can never follow through. Only times he makes threats are when everyone's out in public... and teachers are around, watching our every move. Seems you're a bitch boy." Ron scoffed, rolling his eyes at Malfoy. Malfoy had no words left, he stared at us with complete angst. 

"Stupid Mudbloods and Blood traitors." he mouthed off, escorted by his goons and into the entrance hall.

"Sooner or later, one of you better knock the living shit out of him." I ran my fingers through my bright burgundy curls and shook my head. 

"Can we just resume back and pretend like the Malfoy incident never happened?" asked Hermione, she clearly was having an excellent time just to relax before he came. 

We all nodded in agreement, I walked over to the big tree and slid down and sat down right on my bum. Hermione sat down beside me, and squeezed my hand. 

"I think he spit on me while he was up in my face." I muttered, wiping the back of my hand across my cheek. 

"He gets grosser and grosser as the days go by." Hermione said, her eyes popping out of her face.

Harry and Ron brought back a few roses, these didn't seem to be ripped out of the ground. 

"What is this?" I asked, accepting two roses: one from Harry and one from Ron. 

"Appreciation." Harry smiled a toothless grin, his hands both in his front pockets. 

"Just because." Ron said, his lips angled with his usual sweet, angled smile.

The time finally came, the time I dreaded to come, came nearer and nearer before I knew it. Countless meetings, countless hours of both studying my own material for exams with both Ron and Harry, they kept throwing paper planes at one another, and trying to read about hippogriffs for Hagrid. But other than an insane amount of stress, the days were getting cloudless and sultry, it made everyone gain a new sense of relaxation.

Everyone wanted to be out strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, playing whatever kind of games they wanted to play. My favorite activity that started in May, watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake. 

But we aren't allowed outside the school grounds since June was rapidly gaining on us and we are forced to remain inside the castle, bullying our brains into concentrating while the exciting wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows.

It's June 5th, I have been studying for exams so much that I think I mumble star charts in my sleep. It was breakfast, I got ready extremely quickly and ran out of the dormitory.

There were the Gryffindors that were enrolled in my club, smiling and yawning with a fire in their eyes. I couldn't ask for better friends. We dashed out of the Gryffindor Tower and out onto the marble staircases, we needed to get there as fast as we could. We were on a tight schedule, so we all looked like lunatics running down the moving marble staircase. 

There were the rest of the members, they grinned widely. My heart started to pound, I was so nervous. I took a deep breath, repeating the words in my head, "It's okay. Deep breaths." The Great Hall was filled, people were all in their House seats, chattering about whatever. 

"You've got this." Hermione encouraged me, placing both hands on my shoulders. "Hope so." I breathed, walking into the crowded Great Hall with a crowd behind me.

Fred and George stepped out from the groups, clearing their throats, they placed their wands pointing at their necks. "SHUT UP!" they said so calmly but it increased by at least a few octaves through the Great Hall.

Oh god. Everyone is staring. Cedric Diggory ran outside, grabbing a regular chair from the library for me to stand on. "Thanks." I anxiously said, standing on the chair. I was shaking so much, I turned around and there was Ron's blue eyes twinkling at me. The same way he stared at me like when I won the Cup or beat up Malfoy. 

"I think I'm going to fall." I whispered to him, extending my hand backwards to show him how badly I was shaking. He didn't say a word, instead he held the chair steady so I wouldn't fall.

I cleared my throat, looking from the smiling Gryffindors, interested Ravenclaws, the scolding Slytherins, and the warm Hufflepuffs. 

"Hi, before I'd like to go on I'd like to introduce myself: I'm Rita Vixen. I'm a third year in Gryffindor and I'm a Chaser on the Quidditch team. Recently, I realized something so terrible that I couldn't bear to come to terms with it. And that something was the mistreatment of hippogriffs." I slowly and anxiously said, and instantly Draco's gang all started to yell 'BOO!' I wanted to back down so bad, my heart banging against my chest. 

Fred tried to jump onto the Slytherin table but Lee, Roger and Cedric held him back. 

"Hippogriffs are a type of species of magical creatures. They tend to have a large beak with feathery wings, hind legs with hooves and front legs with talons. They can vary in different colors and sizes. They're proud creatures, which means you do have to respect them in order for them to respect you. And once they do, they're the most loyal and sweet creatures." I sympathetically said, trying to ignore the loud booing from the left side of the room. 

"Now, people are misjudging this lovely creature because of their hard stare and their scary outside. But once you show that you both respect one another, you can live together peacefully. Don't take it from me or anything, but please just listen to me because these poor creatures are misjudged by their looks and pride. They shouldn't mean that they should get killed, that's absurd and brutal. With my club HALO, Hippogriffs Are Lovely Organization, I sprinkle some knowledge into people's heads about these wonderful creatures and spread awareness of the brutal situations they go through. I'm done wasting your time here, though. I hope you all take what I said and really think about it. Thank you." I quietly said, my head hung, looking down at my feet.

I felt accomplished, but I don't think people cared. Ron's hand spazzed in front of my face, he wanted to help me down. I gracefully accepted, stepping back onto the ground. My legs were shaking with fear. 

Lee started clapping, then George, then Fred and soon the whole hall clapped, except for some Slytherins. I took a deep breath, taking in the thunderous applause. I turned back around to the club, my teeth were chittering. Everyone smiled, bringing in a group hug. 

After the clapping died down, I pulled away from the group and some professors started to stroll into the hall. We all disbanded, walking back to our House tables. I finally did what I wanted to overcome. It was like a burden rolled off my shoulder, but now I had to be focused on one thing, exams. Walking down the aisle, eyes were burning deep into my soul. I shook myself out of anxiousness, sitting down right next to Hermione.

She was working on her exam schedule. I pulled out my exam schedule that I copied down the night before. It was decorated by the rainbow, Monday's tests in red, Tuesday in orange, Wednesday in yellow, Thursday in green and Friday in blue. 

"Did a unicorn write that for you?" Ron asked, scrunching his eyebrows to see the splash of color. "No." I rolled my eyes, Ron slid my schedule over to him with a single finger and he read it over. He sighed so heavily, it was sort of dramatic. 

"What?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows and rolled my eyes at him. 

"How about I go into a hibernation and you wake me up after exams are done. Tell the school that the lunatic runaway wizard took me out of my sleep and I won't be able to make it." Ron muttered irritatedly.

"Well, that's life, Ronald. You do things you don't want to but you have to." I replied back, snatching my paper back out of his fingertips. Ron rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and resting his head on it. 

I passed the schedule over to Harry, he glimpsed over it and laid it down out on the table. They seemed to be interested in Hermione's schedule. 

"Have fun trying to get out of that one." I joked, leaning into Hermione's ear. 

"Hermione? Er - you sure you've copied down these times right?" asked Ron cautiously, because she was liable to explode when interrupted these days. 

"What?" Hermione snapped, picking up her exam schedule. She looked over to me, scoffing. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" Harry asked, fidgeting with my exam schedule. 

"No, have any of you seen my copy of Numerology and Grammatica?" she said, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah, I've borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading." said Ron very quietly. I tried to fight back my laughter, but a giggle slipped my mouth. Holding my hand over my mouth, Ron stared at me and pursed his lips into a dimple smile.

Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment around the table. Just then, the owls fluttered into the hall like they usually do every morning and Hedwig flew down on top of mine and Hermione's head, her claws on each of our heads. A letter clutched tight in her beak, she dropped the letter and it breezed into Harry's hands. 

"Here, Hedwig." I said, scooping a handful of cornflakes into my palm, bringing it up to my head so she can pluck them. 

"Harry, hurry up and open it before more owls swoop down and eat from the mental owl lady." Ron said, smirking at me feeding Hedwig while she chirped on top of my head. 

"It's from Hagrid," said Harry, ripping the note open. "Buckbeak's appeal - it's set for the sixth." He said, darting from the three of us. 

"That's the day we finish our exams," Hermione said, still looking around the table for her Arithmancy book. 

"And they're coming up here to do it," Harry added, still reading the letter. 

"Why would they come here for a judgement?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and - and an executioner."

"What?" I said as Hedwig flew off my head and back to the owlery. Hermione's rustling of parchment stopped, she looked up, startled. 

"They're bringing the executioner to the appeal! But that sounds as though they've already decided!" Hermione exclaimed. 

"Yeah, it does," Harry said slowly. 

"But that's not fair at all." I gasped, putting my hand over my forehead. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. 

"They can't! I've spent ages reading up on stuff for him; they can't just ignore it all!" Ron howled. 

"There's nothing we can do now." I softly said, looking blankly at the food on my plate. 

"I think I'm going to go see Uncle Remus." I murmured, grabbing my bag and throwing it over my shoulder.

I got off my seat and walked out of the Great Hall with my head down. I couldn't believe that they already made the decision. It seemed as if they thought about it already. I ran up the stairs, not even looking to see if anyone was near. 

I knocked on Uncle Remus' door, blankly staring at the gold plate that hung on the oak door. He opened up the door, his messy hair leered down and saw my face.

He knew right away, "Come in." he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He locked the door behind us, guiding me to a chair. He grabbed a box of tissues, placing it in my lap and gave a small smile. "Take it as you heard what happened." he slowly said, standing next to the fire as the kettle boiled.

I nodded, staring at the tissue box in my hands. "Tell you what. Bring your books, nooks and crannies or whatever up here." he smiled. 

"All right." I sniffled, pulling another tissue from the box and blew my nose. I threw both tissues in the rubbish bin and settled the tissue box on his desk. I walked out and back up the marble staircase, I felt defeated. My friends are probably even more devastated than me.

Walking through the portrait hole and up the stairs into my dormitory, I grabbed all of my books, study sheets, ink and spare parchment and stuffed them in my bag. I threw it over my shoulder and grabbed Soupy off my bed. 

I rushed out of the Gryffindor Tower when I heard the school bell echoing throughout the castle. I ran down to Uncle Remus' office and into it. He made me a cup of tea, gave me a few pieces of chocolate. 

He directed me upstairs and cleared off a spot on the table for me. He had some business to take care of so he let me stay upstairs. I spread my notes all over and started to resume my studying from the night before. 

Exam week started and an unnatural hush fell over the castle. We emerged from Transfiguration at lunchtime on Monday, limp and ashen-faced, comparing results and bemoaning the difficulty of the tasks we have been set, which had included turning a teapot into a tortoise. I struggled with my tortoise but it turned into one with a spout for a tail.

"Oh, look, Professor McGonagall! I do think it's very cute with it's irregular tail." I said, squatting down and petting the tortoise who looked very pleasant. 

"Please, Rita.I know you can achieve the spell." she whispered into my ear, peering down at the uncomfortable creature. Trying the spell one more time, the tortoise's tail was regular, a green little triangular shape tail. 

It looked chipper as it slowly walked around. Professor McGonagall grinned approvingly down at me, watching me squat down and watch it walk around. Hermione irritated the rest of the crowd by fussing about how her tortoise looked more like a turtle, which was the least of everyone's worries.

"Mine still had a spout for a tail, what a nightmare..." Ron gloomily slumped into the Great Hall beside me. 

"Were the tortoises supposed to breathe steam?" Harry asked, rubbing the back of his head with his wand still in between his fingers. 

"It still had a willow-patterned shell, d'you think that'll count against me?" Hermione worriedly questioned, spazzing out right beside me. 

"My tortoise is extremely adorable, it walked around like it had an exciting life to pursue." I added, sitting down at the House table.

After a hasty lunch, it was straight back upstairs for the Charms exam. And as usual, Hermione had been right; Professor Flitwick did test us on Cheering Charms. Hermione and I partnered up, she insisted to go first since she wanted to impress Professor Flitwick. 

She perfectly casted the charm on me, leaving me in high spirits, much to Professor Flitwick's approval he gave her an ear-to-ear grin. I performed the charm to the best of my ability, Hermione was left with a giddy expression. He also gave me the biggest smile, scribbling down on his large parchment and the quill that was twice the size of his head.

Ron and Harry were right beside us, and Harry overdid his out of nerves and Ron ended up in fits of laughter and had to be led away to a quiet room for an hour before he was ready to perform the charm himself. And after dinner, we all hurried to the common room, there was no time for relaxing, it was to start studying for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions and Astronomy.

Hagrid presided over the Care of Magical Creatures exam the following morning with a very preoccupied air indeed; his heart didn't seem to be in it at all. He provided a large tub of fresh flobberworms for the class, and told us to pass the test, our flobberworm had to still be alive at the end of one hour. 

As flobberworms flourished best if left to their own devices, it was the easiest exam by far, and it gave us a chance to talk to Hagrid. 

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told us, bending low on the pretense of checking Harry's flobberworm was still alive. 

"Bin cooped up too long. But still... we'll know day after tomorrow - one way or the other -" he said, covering his mouth and checking Ron's flobberworm. I choked up, slapping my hand over my mouth.

I knew what Hagrid was implying, I hoped it wasn't the way we all despaired it was. Ron's eyes shot to mine, as I stared down at my flobberworm, poking it with a stick to make sure it was all right. Potions was that afternoon, which was such an unqualified disaster. 

With Snape's vindictive stares at me and Harry, also Harry huffing and puffing beside me while trying to stir his potion, made my nerves jump. I tried my hardest to focus, placing all of the ingredients and stirring them into the thick Confusing Concoction. 

Much to Snape's displeasure, he peered over my cauldron at the thick potion, lifting a spoonful of it up to his eye to examine the texture; he scoffed, carefully placing it back into the cauldron. I knew by those looks I had done it correctly.

Then came Astronomy at midnight, up on the tallest tower; the constellations in the sky were so magical. It looked like an artistic masterpiece in the dark purple, shiny sky. The stars gleamed down on our faces, illuminating us with a new moony glow that was so perfect. I stared up at the night sky, my eyes twinkling like a shooting star. 

Then came History of Magic on Wednesday morning, I never really paid attention to Professor Binns, I always passed notes to Ron and Harry that made us stifle laughs in the boring classroom.

I scribbled down whatever I remembered from Florean Fortescue's indulging speeches about medieval witch-hunts. The afternoon meant Herbology in the greenhouses under a baking hot sun; then back to the common room once more, Harry, Ron and Hermione all got sunburnt around their necks and cheeks; this made Ron's freckles stand out a bit more which was quite cute.

Our second to last exam on Thursday morning was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now, when Uncle Remus put on a show, I mean it. His rock music blared on the ancient tulip record player he had while we all had to cross through an obstacle course outside in the sun. 

We had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish our way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk with a new boggart.

Skipping through the deep paddling pool, the grindylow snatched my leg and I blasted it with "Stupefy!" which fell back into the pool and stared at me with the scaly eyes. 

The Red Caps didn't give me any problem, I battled them with one shot and they all slithered back into their potholes. I ignored the hinkypunk, spinning around the patch of marsh with a deary look on my face. I climbed into the trunk lastly, the new boggart rumbling and turning into something I had never expected. 

It was Buckbeak, he was crying and squeaking. His orange glowly eyes seemed to have some sort of tears in them. 

"It's not real." I chanted in my head, my wand stuck in my bun, holding my bun all together. Buckbeak squawked loudly, my heart fell to my stomach. "IT'S NOT REAL!" I screamed, breaking my wand out of my tight bun and pointing it right at the boggart.

"Riddikulus!" I screamed, making the boggart along with a whip-crack noise, into a stuffed animal. I wiped my nose with my robe, climbing out of the trunk and into the hot summer air. I took a deep breath while approaching Uncle Remus and my friends who seemed to be waiting for me to finish. 

"You all right?" Uncle Remus asked, pulling his arm over my shoulders. 

"Yeah, I'm all right." I smiled, slicking my curly hair back into a bun and sticking my wand back inside it to hold it together. Ron took a double look at me. We waved goodbye to Uncle Remus and traveled up the hill back to the castle.

"Hermione's boggart was Professor McGonagall telling her that she'd fail everything." Ron whispered in my ear, trying to stop himself from laughing in his face. I shared a look with him, trying to hold back my laughter. Harry and Hermione came to a halt, causing me to bump directly in Harry's back. 

"Ouch, Harry." I muttered, rubbing the side of my cheek that I hurt.

"Hello there, Harry! Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?" asked a voice in front of us, I redirected my eyes to a man in a pinstriped cloak, standing outside and staring out at the grounds. It was Cornelius Fudge, weirdly enough, Harry was on friendly terms with him. 

"Yes," Harry said happily, leaving Hermione to back away and into Ron and I. The three of us hovered in the back, sharing an awkward look with one another. 

"Lovely day, pity, pity.." Fudge said, casting an eye over the lake. He sighed deeply and looked down at Harry. 

"I'm here on an unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Magic Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in." Fudge said accordingly. I shot a nervous look to Herimione and Ron. 

"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron interrupted, stepping forward. "No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," said Fudge, looking curiously at Ron. 

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all! The hippogriff might get off!" Ron said stoutly. And before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the castle doors behind him.

One was so ancient that he could be withering away in front of my eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin black mustache. 

The very old wizard squinted toward Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this... Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?" The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; oh I hope it's not what I think he's doing; then I saw his broad thumb running along the blade of a shining axe.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but I grabbed his hand and tossed his back while Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked her head to the entrance hall. Ron's angry eyes were scouting Hermione that he didn't have a chance to let go of my hand. He pulled me, stomping angrily as we got inside of the Great Hall for lunch. 

"Why'd you stop me? Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!" he shouted at Hermione while her eyes stared at ur clasped hands. Ron looked down at what she was looking at, his ears turning beet red and he broke out of the grasp. I settled my hands at my sides, rushing over to my spot at the House table. Hermione's voice echoed into my ears.

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss! As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak..." Hermione said, flopping down beside me looking very upset. 

"You're lucky we stopped you before you argued with your dad's boss, Ron. It could have cost him his job." I said, muttering to myself. Ripping a piece of bread into the tiny pieces on my plate. 

All around us were people talking excitedly as they ate their lunch, happily anticipating the end of the exams that afternoon but the four of us were lost in worry about Hagrid and Buckbeak so we didn't bother.

Our last exam was Divination; Hermione's, Muggle Studies. We walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left us on the first floor, giving me a hug for good luck and the three of us proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of our classmates were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying. The three of us tried to distract ourselves for a while by interacting with our friends. 

"She's seeing us all separately," Neville informed us as we went to sit down next to him.

He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing. I squeezed next to Neville, leaning on his shoulder to peer down at the notes. Neville took one look at me and the sweat dripped down his forehead, he rushed back to looking at Ron and Harry. 

"Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked unhappily. 

"Nope." said Ron in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started. 

"Crystal gazing is praised as a natural gift. How funny." I blurted out, skimming the pages of Neville's book while my head nestled more onto his shoulder.

Ron rolled his eyes, leaning back with his hands hoisting his head upwards and ignoring the sight of the two of us. The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. 

As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?" But everyone refused to say. 

Neville soon left us, climbing us the silver ladder while he shook. The three of us stand down on the stair, leaning back onto the wall and staring at nothing.

"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" squeaked Neville as he clambered down the ladder towards Harry, Ron and I where we finally moved to the landing. 

"That's convenient." snorted Ron. "You know, I'm starting to believe that you were right about her-" he jabbered his thumb toward the trapdoor overhead - "she's a right old fraud." I scoffed at him after he gave me some credit. 

"Yeah," Harry said, looking down at his watch. 

"Wish she'd hurry up." Parvati came back down the ladder glowing with pride. 

"She says I've got all the marking of a true Seer, I saw loads of stuff... Well, good luck!" she informed the three of us and hurried off the spiral staircase toward Lavender. 

"Rita Vixen," said the familiar, misty voice from over our heads. I pursued my lips at the two boys who grimaced at me.

I climbed over the silver ladder and out of sight. The room was way hotter than before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent was in the air. Stumbling over the clutter of chairs and tables, I skipped over to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for me with a large crystal ball. 

"Good day, my dear, if you would kindly gaze into the Orb... Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..."

I bent over the crystal ball, and with all the hope I could muster, I hoped it showed me something other than this swirling white fog. I needed to make up something, quick and fast. What shall I say? A letter? A letter could mean many things... 

"Well? What do you see?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. Thank god, I put my hair up in a bun, this heat was making my face turn into a tomato and the perfume incense flew up into my nostrils, which reminded me of home. 

"A letter." I softly said, staring into the white mist.

"A letter? Does it say who it's dedicated to?" Professor Trelawney whispered. "Er- it says my name, my full name..." I whispered back. 

"Well! Can you seem to get inside it? Look closer..." she said, her face curling up into a smile. I tried to think, should I say I've got a letter from my parents? 

"It's from my parents. They're congratulating me on success..." I gulped, trying to cast around my mind for anything else. 

"Well, my dear, you may just be seeing the outcome of your exam grades! Isn't that just wonderful..." Professor Trelawney perked up, doodling with the quill on the parchment that was settled on her knees.

"Look closer... Does it say anything else?" she whispered, tapping the quill excitedly. "Um," I gulped, trying to drag a thought out of my mind. 

"It says that they're extremely proud of me with my accomplishments like the House Cup and starting up a club..."

Professor Trelawney's eyes twinkled while the misty fog hit her glasses, she continued to scribble away on her parchment. 

"Very well," she grinned, folding the piece of parchment in her hands. "I'm very impressed with your Seeing abilities, my dear, you're showing the ambience of a true Seer. You're allowed to go off, dear..." Professor Trelawney illuminated with the ghostly mist of the crystal ball, and her bangles clanking together while she pointed her finger towards the door. 

"Thank you, Professor." I smiled cluelessly, and stumbled down the silver ladder where my two friends were itching with impatience.

"Very sweaty in there," I muttered, lifting my collar and airing it out with my finger. "Best to hurry it up so you won't bake in there." I sighed, approaching the spiral staircase. 

"Ronald Weasley," the same misty voice I was with before called. 

"Rita! Wait for me!" Ron whispered, jerking his head towards me. 

"Fine." I whispered, plopping down right next to Harry. Ron climbed up the ladder and out of sight. I threw my head in my hands and took a deep breath. 

"I hope everything goes smoothly with Buckbeak." I whispered muffedly into my palms. Harry seemed to hear correctly, "Hope so too." he murmured back.

Twenty minutes later, Ron's large feet reappeared at the ladder. 

"How'd it go?" Harry asked, standing up. He held his hand out for me, pulling me up with him. 

"Rubbish, couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though..." Ron said.

"Meet you in the common room," Harry muttered as Professor Trelawney's voice called his name.

Ron and I waved Harry goodbye and we walked together down the spiral staircase, huffing and puffing beside one another and we settled down the long marble staircase. 

"How're you feeling?" I asked softly, my hand sliding down the marble banisher while I walked slowly down the stairs. 

"Dunno how to feel, honestly. I feel bad for Hagrid, Buckbeak and for you." he said awkwardly, jerking his head towards me and biting his lip.

"Don't worry about me, Ron. I'm all right." I exhaled, smiling a bit. It made me giddy that Ron was worrying about me... 

"You're lying." he hissed, glaring up at me, turning his back while the staircases connected to another. I took a deep breath, jumping over to the next staircase, looking up at Ron.

"It's eating me up alive, Ron. First off, I started a club to spread awareness about this topic, which seemed to be going quite greatly. Then, not even a few weeks later, an executioner shows up with the Minister, which already planned their decision. I tried to have hope, I really did." I whispered, trying to stop myself from imploding all on Ron. 

"I know, but there still is hope, Ri. There is a chance." he uttered next to me, walking up to Gryffindor Tower while I followed.

Entering the portrait hole, there laid an empty common room with Hermione's bushy hair stuffed in a corner. Hermione's face was ghastly, she looked as if someone died. 

"Hagrid, he sent me this. I don't think I can open it by myself." Hermione said in a hushed whisper. Ron and I rushed to her, she scooted over to the arm of the chair while I sat beside her and Ron sat beside me.

"I'll do it." I said with watery eyes, and she handed over the letter to me with a shaky hand. I closed my eyes shut while I ripped the letter open, grabbing the letter out. I opened my eyes slowly at the note, it was dry, that's a good sign.

Last appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.

Hagrid

Just then, the portrait hole swung open and Harry's huff and puffs boomed through the room. 

"Professor Trelawney, just told me-" Harry panted, stopping as soon as he saw our faces. Hermione, Ron and I were ghastly white, our eyes filled with teardrops that were waiting to fall out. 

"Buckbeak lost, Hagrid just sent this." Ron weakly said, handing the note over to Harry.

"We've got to go, he can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!" Harry said at once, crumbling the paper in his palm.

"Sunset, though," Ron said, staring out the window in a glazed sort of way. "We'd never be allowed... 'specially you Harry..." Harry sat down next to Hermione, his head sinking into his hands. 

"Where is it?" perched up Hermione. 

"In the passageway under the one eyed witch... if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble," he gulped, looking at Hermione with raised eyebrows. 

"That's true," Hermione said, getting up from beside me and to her feet. "If he sees you... how do you open the witch's hump again?" she said, placing her hand on her hip. 

"You - you tap it and say 'Dissendium' but -" Harry started but Hermione yanked me by my collar and proceeded to the Fat Lady. 

"Wait-" Ron yelled, causing the two of us to turn around.

"Can she stay?" Ron quietly said, his face was pale and he looked shaken up. 

Hermione sighed and let go of my collar, "Be careful, Mione." I whispered, squeezing her hand and back next to Ron. She pushed the Fat Lady open and vanished from sight. 

"She's gone to get it." I said, stating the obvious. Ron's body loosen up once I sat back down beside him, Harry's head was in his hands. There was nothing I could say to make myself or them feel better instead, I moved both of my hands to hold one of theirs. 

Ron squeezed my hand, he didn't want to let go; Harry smacked his hand across his face and the other held my hand tightly.

Hermione returned a quarter of an hour later with the silvery Cloak hidden under her robes. We went down to dinner with everyone else, but we didn't return to Gryffindor Tower afterward. Harry had the Cloak hidden down the front of his robes; keeping his arms folded to hide the lump.

We skulked in an empty chamber off the entrance hall, listening, until we were sure it was deserted. We heard a last pair of people hurrying across the hall and a door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door. 

"Okay, no one there- Cloak on" she instructed as Harry pulled out the long silvery Cloak from under his robes. We stood quietly behind Harry and he threw it over us, "Everyone covered?" he whispered, turning to see our dim lit faces. 

"Yes, now let's hurry. Very slow and stay close." I ordered in a hush whisper.

We walked very close together, Ron stepped on the back of my maryjanes, apologizing every second after. We crossed the hall in a tiptoe beneath the Cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gliding the top branches of the trees. 

I looked up for a moment to see the watercolor warm sunset, it was kind of relaxing even though there was a heartbreaking situation we had to attend to. We reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He was a minute in answering, and when he did, he looked all around for his visitor, pale-faced hotel and trembling.

"It's us, we're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off." Harry hissed. 

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back and we stepped inside his warm hut. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled the Cloak off of the four of us.

Hagrid was not crying, nor did he throw himself upon our necks. He looked like a man who didn't know what to do or what he was doing. The helplessness was worse to watch than tears. 

"Wan' some tea?" he asked as his great hands were shaking as he reached for the kettle.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked, hesitantly. 

"I- I took him outside," Hagrid said while spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. 

"He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an' - an' smell fresh air - before-" his hands trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor.

I got up from my seat and rushed to the mess. 

"I'll do it, Hagrid." Hermione said quickly, hurrying over to me. 

"There's another one in the cupboard. Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. 

"You get the milk, I'll clean." I jerked my head over to the cupboard, Hermione followed and ran over there at once. I reached for the broom and pan, sweeping up the shattered glass shards on the floor. I then grabbed a kitchen towel and cleaned up the milk. 

Hermione was making a ruckus out of the cupboard, so after I finished I ran over to my struggling best friend. 

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to Hagrid. "Dumbledore-"

"He's tried, he's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared... Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like... threaten 'em, I expect... an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's... but it'll be quick an' clean... I'll be beside him..." Hagrid said softly, swallowing what it seemed like a hard pill to swallow. 

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it - while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..." He continued. I stopped rumbling through the cupboard and held onto the door.

I choked back my tears, biting my lip and looking up at the ceiling to stop myself. 

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid." Hermione began but Hagrid shook his shaggy head. 

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway... If Fudge and Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in big trouble."

I looked out to the window, and there was Buckbeak. He looked like he knew what was going to happen, his facial expressions looking a bit gloomy. Hermione acquired the milk jug and we silently choked back our tears and went to the kettle. 

Then, as she picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a shriek. I peeked inside the milk jug and there was a rat with a missing toe.

"Ron! I- I don't believe it! It's Scabbers!" We turned around to the table, I nodded in excitement. 

Ron gaped at Hermione, "What are you talking about?" Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down.

With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table. 

"Scabbers! Scabbers, what are you doing here?" Ron asked blankly. He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. 

He was way thinner than ever; large tufts of hair had fallen out, leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself. 

"It's okay, Scabbers! No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!" Ron said.

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window. His normally ruddy face had gone to the color of parchment. 

"They're comin'..." The four of us whipped around. A group of men was walking down the distant castle steps. "

Hagrid, do you have Buckbeak's knitted hat I made for him?" I quickly asked, scanning the room to find the hat. Hagrid turned around quickly, taking it off the hanger on his wardrobe door and handed it over to me. 

"Yeh gotta go," Hagrid said, Every inch of him was trembling. 

"They've mustn' find yeh here.... Go now..." Hermione picked up the Cloak, throwing it over the four bodies and Ron struggled to stuff Scabbers in his pocket. I held the gray knitted hat against my chest, it was the thing I could remember him by. 

"I'll let yeh out the back way," Hagrid said.

We followed him to the door and into his back garden. I felt strange, even worse when I saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. I was right, Buckbeak knew something was up. He turned his sharp beak from side to side and pawed the ground nervously. I gripped the hat even tighter around my chest watching them. 

"It's okay, Beaky, It's okay." Hagrid said softly. He turned to the four floating heads, "Go on, get goin'." But I couldn't move. 

"Hagrid, we can't-" Hermione started, 

"We'll tell them what really happened-" Ron continued, 

"They can't kill him-" Harry added, 

"I want to be here-" I finished, looking at Beaky who stared back at the four of us. 

"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all.!" Hagrid said fiercely. 

We had no choice, Hermione threw the Cloak over our heads and I began to hear faint voices from the front of the cabin. Clenching the hat so hard, Hagrid looked at the vanished spot and nodded. 

"Go quick. Don' listen..." he said hoarsely. And he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the door.

Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, the four of us silently set off around Hagrid;s house. As they reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap. 

"Please, let's hurry, I can't stand it, I can't bear it..." Hermione whispered. We started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking fast now, the sky was now a clear, purple tinted gray but to the west there was a ruby glow. Ron stopped dead. 

"Oh, please, Ron." Hermione began behind me. 

"Ron, please," I whispered to him in front of me, straining myself to not look behind me.

"It's Scabbers - he won't - stay put-" Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand. 

"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron." Ron hissed.

We heard a door open behind us and men's voices. 

"Can we please go!" I mumbled, clapping Ron's shoulders and jerked him back and forth. 

"I'm trying-" Ron stammered, pushing the rat back into his pocket. 

"Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed.

"Okay - Scabbers, stay put-" We walked forward; we weren't trying to hear the rumble of voices behind us. Ron stopped again. 

"I can't hold him - Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us-" Ron said, trying to hush his squealing rat. He was loud, but not loud enough to cover up the sounds from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe. 

Hermione swayed behind me, "They did it! I d-don't believe it - they did it!" she squeaked. I held the hat in my hat, holding it up to my face and the tears streamed down my face. They did it.


	14. the cats, rat, and dog

My mind was blank, the knitted hat between my fingers crumbled by my touch. The tears silently fell down my cheeks, crashing onto my shirt and horror filled the atmosphere around the four of us. We stood transfixed with fear under the Invisibility Cloak.

The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind us, we heard a wild howling which I automatically knew was Hagrid. 

"Hagrid," Harry muttered and without hesitating, he made to turn back. I yanked his collar, and Ron and Hermione seized his arms.

"We can't, he'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him..." Ron said, while his face was paper-white. 

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven, "How - could - they? How could they?" she choked. 

"Can we please go back?" I whispered, trying to catch my breath. 

"Come on," Ron said while his teeth chattered. We set off back to the castle, walking slowly to keep ourselves hidden under the Cloak.

The light was fading fast now, and by the time we reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell around us. 

"Scabbers, keep still," Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wrigglingly madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. 

"What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still - OUCH! He bit me!" 

Breaking my stare, I looked up at Ron with a quivering lip. "Ron, shush!" I ordered, clapping my hand against my forehead. 

"Ron, be quiet! Fudge'll be out here in any minute -" Hermione whispered urgently. 

"He won't - stay - put -" Ron groaned, pushing his little rat back down in his pocket. Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip. 

"What's the matter with him?" Hermione groaned, manically glancing down at the rat. 

"Maybe there's something around us -?" I questioned, searching around at the silver, shimmering lining of the Cloak. 

"Crookshanks! No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!" Hermione moaned, trying to order our cats away. 

"Soupy! What are you doing? Get out of here!" I whispered, shooing the cats away from us. But the cats were getting nearer.

"Scabbers - NO!" Ron whimpered as the rat slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. 

In one bound, Crookshanks and Soupy sprang after him, and before any of us could stop them, 

Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness. 

"NO!" I yelled, sticking my head out from the Invisibility Cloak, ready to chase after him. 

I pelted out from under the Cloak and chased after Ron, "RITA!" Hermione moaned after me.

Scattered footsteps behind me told me they were following behind. "Ron! Where are you?" I called, cupping my hands around my lips. Ron's thundering footsteps ahead and shouts at both cats led me to Ron. There was a loud thud. 

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cats -" I ran so fast not paying attention to the ground beneath me. Ron must've hurt himself, I thought. I stumbled through the forest, stepping over thick roots and then came to a sudden halt. 

Harry and Hermione crashed right into me seconds later and stared at Ron sprawled on the ground. Scabbers was back in his pockets, and he had both hands held tight over the quivering lump. 

I held my hand out for Ron to grab it, while panting and bending over to catch my breath. 

"Ron - come on - back under the cloak - Dumbledore - the Minister - they'll be coming back out in a minute -'' Hermione panted, pulling the streaming banner in front of her. 

"Come on," I breathed, staring down at him.

There was a soft pounding of gigantic paws, something bounding toward us out of the dark. I turned to look for the sound and there came an enormous, galloping, pale-eyed, jet-black dog. 

My heart began to rapidly hit against my chest, I tried to grab my wand away from my hair - 

The dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit me against my chest, the wind was kicked out of me, pushing me back against the ground and my back struck down into a knotty root that grew irregularly in the ground.

To my right, Harry tried to extract his wand, but the dog made another leap and, this time, pushed Harry onto the ground, and the dog rolled off of him. 

Feeling like my back was cracked, I turned over and watched Harry force himself to get up and attack the dog. There was a rough growl, and he jumped around looking for his next attack.

Ron was on his feet, and the dog sprang back up and the dog's jaw fastened around Ron's outstretched arm. 

Forcing myself out of my injury, I jumped back to my feet, attempting to attack the dog. 

Harry lunged forward, seizing a handful of the brute's hair. I skidded over the rumple of roots, heaving the dog's black matted leg. I pulled it back, while Harry pulled the dog's hair back but it was dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll.

Then out of nowhere something hit Harry and me so violently over Harry's face and against my chest that we both got the wind off us. Hermione shrieked with pain and fell to the ground.

Harry screamed, "Lumos!", and the wandlight revealed the trunk of a thick tree.

We had chased Scabbers into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a hing wind, whipping backward and forward to stop us from going nearer.

At the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a broad gap in the roots - 

Ron was fighting furiously but his head and torso were slipping out of sight. 

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air, and he was forced backward again. 

All I could see was one of Ron's legs, which had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling farther underground -

But a horrible crack but the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

My breathing was starting to get heavy, there was blood filling up my nice white shirt and my cheek stung a bit; there was no way that this could be happening. I'm battling the Whomping Willow right now? And I have to save Ron from my crazy cat and a mental dog? 

"Rita, Harry - we've got to go for help-" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow had cut her across the shoulder.

"Hermione! God! We need to go help Ron, now!" I yelled, feeling a bit wobbly from the attack on my back. 

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time!" Harry retorted, looking fiercely at the Willow. "We're never going to get through without help-" Another branch whipped down at us, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can." Harry panted, darting here and there, to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches. 

"There's got to be a way." I said determinedly, scanning the ground behind us and backing away from the range of the tree's blows. 

"Oh, help, help, please..." Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot. 

Crookshanks and Soupy darted forward. Soupy stayed back, tilting her head back and forth while Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk.

Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to a marble, it stopped moving. Soupy slid down behind Crookshanks, crawling to the gap. 

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. 

"Soupy!" I yelled with mixed emotions, my body raged with anger, but my heart floated as the two cats stopped the tree from killing us. 

Hermione grasped Harry and I's arms painfully hard. "How did he know -?" She asked. 

"They're both friends with that dog, I've seen them together. Come on - and keep your wand out -" Harry said grimly.

Unraveling my bun out from my wand, my curl rolled out of my bun and fell down to my shoulders. I held my wand right ahead of my chest, covering the distance to the trunk. 

When we reached the gap into the roots, both Crookshanks and Soupy slid down into it. Harry went next, he crawled headfirst and slid down. 

Hermione sat down with her knees pushed against her face and slid down. 

Lastly, I slid down on my bum, brushing the dirt path with my fingertips and into a very low tunnel. "Lumos." I whispered, sparking a light from the tip of my wand. 

"Where's Ron?" Hermione whispered in a terrified voice. 

"I hope he's all right." I whispered shakily, looking around the dark tunnel. 

"This way," Harry said, setting off, bent-backed, after the cats.

We followed behind, bent-backed, looking at the earthy, dark burrow. "Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked, breathlessly, in front of me. 

"I don't know... It's marked on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it... It goes off the edge of the map, but it looks like it ends in Hogsmeade." Harry explained. 

"Looks like we're the first to get in, how wonderful. Cheers to us." I sarcastically scoffed behind them, crawling as fast as I could behind the two.

We moved as fast as we could, bent almost double; ahead of us, Crookshank and Soupy's tails bobbed in and out of the view. 

On and on went the passage; it felt like a long trip around the castle like we were sight-seeing. 

My mind was filled with thoughts, is Ron all right? I hope the terrible dog isn't hurting him, and he's all right, or he defeated the enormous dog. My breaths were starting to become more painful, as I held my wand tighter. 

And the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and the cats had vanished. There was a patch of dim light through a small opening. The three of us paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. The three of us raised our wands to lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper peeling from the walls; stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows boarded up, only allowing a stretch of light to come through. 

The three of us glanced at one another, waiting to take the next step. Hermione and I nodded, and Harry pulled himself out of the hole, staring around. Hermione crawled up, grabbing Harry's arm suddenly. I climbed up, and brushed over to Harry's side. 

The room was deserted, but to our right, there was a door that stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. 

"Guys, I think we're in the Shrieking Shack." Hermione whispered. 

"Lovely! Of course the four of us managed to be in the most haunted place in the whole town! Can't wait for the ghosts to come and drag me by my feet." I scoffed, clapping my head against Harry's shoulder. 

He pointed over to a wooden chair near us, large chunks had been torn out of it; one of the legs had been ripped off entirely. "Ghosts don't do that." he said slowly, glancing down at me.

Before I could grasp upon what that could possibly be, I grabbed Harry's arm so tight and looked around the torn up room.

Then, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. I shot up to the ceiling, gripping Harry's arm a bit more firmly. Harry glanced at Hermione, then looked at me, raising his eyebrows. 

"Sorry," I pursed my lips, letting go of him. 

Quietly, we crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something dragged upstairs. We reached the dark landing.

"Now." We whispered together, and the lights at the end of our wands went out. Only one door was open. And as we crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then loud purring. 

We exchanged a last look, a last nod. My wand held firmly in my palm, Harry kicked the door wide open.

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks and Soupy, purring loudly at the sight of us. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strangle angle, was Ron. 

I dashed in front of Harry and Hermione, crashing my knees into the floor and holding Ron's hand to make sure he was all right. 

"Ron, are you all right?" I whispered, nodding at him while Hermione knelt beside me. 

"Ron - Are you okay?" Hermione asked gently, looking down at him and sharing an anxious look with me. 

"Where's the dog?" Harry asked, kneeling on the other side of Ron. 

"Not a dog, Harry, it's a trap-" Ron moaned, his teeth gritted with pain. 

"What-" Harry confusedly looked down at his friend. "He's the dog... he's an Animagus..." Ron was staring over Harry's shoulder, whimpering with fear.

Hermione, Harry and I all wheeled around and with a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them. A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black. 

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at us. My wand shot out of my hand, high in the air along with Harry and Hermione's, Black caught them. 

Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he said hoarsely, his voice sounded as though he hadn't had to use it in a while. 

"Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful... it will make everything much easier..." My heart was shooting out of my chest, I could've heard the slams up in my ear drums. 

My fingers curled to my sides and my palms clenched into a fist. All the pain throbbing on my body didn't matter anymore, we were all about to be soulless in a few seconds.

And then, Harry started forward, Hermione, Ron and I ran to his sides and grabbed his arms, pulling him back. 

"You can't do this, Harry!" I yelled, straining to pull the boy. 

"No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper. Ron spoke up to Black. 

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!", he said fiercely. Though, the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color and he swayed while he spoke. 

Something flickered in Black's shadowy eyes. 

"Lie down, you will damage that leg even more." he quietly said to Ron, like he had some sympathy for a psychopath killer. Harry rushed to Ron's side, wrapping his arm over his shoulder to keep his balance. 

"Did you hear me? You'll have to kill all four of us!" he said weakly, he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay up. "There'll be only one murder here tonight," Black said, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Harry spat, trying to wrench himself free of the three of us. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?" Harry shouted, looking at the matted man in front of us. 

"Harry! Be quiet!" Hermione whimpered.

Ron and I stood still, we knew how much anger Harry was holding in, he had to get it out.

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" Harry roared, and with a huge effort he broke free of our restraint and lunged forward. 

One of Harry's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the other hand of Harry's, collided with the side of Black's head, and they fell, backward, into the wall- Hermione was screaming, Ron was yelling, I was cursing at the sudden blinding flash into the air.

Black clung onto Harry's throat while Harry punched every part of Black he could find. 

"No, I've waited too long-" Black hissed. Harry choked, his glasses askew. Hermione, Ron and I all charged at Black. 

I grabbed Black's matted long hair, pulling it as I pulled myself to his face and wrapped my arm around his bearded face; Hermione's foot swung out of nowhere, Black let go of Harry with a grunt of pain; Ron threw himself on Black's wand hand, and we heard a faint clatter- 

I was using all might to make sure Black wasn't getting any hold of my best friend. Harry fought free out of the tangle of the bodies, rolling across the floor.

"Argh!" he yelped. 

Crookshanks joined in, both of his claws had sunk into Harry's arms, and he threw him off. 

I pulled the matted hair ever so tightly, wrapping it around my hand and pulling it to make it even more tighter around my fingers to hurt extremely. 

"Get out of the way!" Harry shouted at the three of us.

I fell off from Black's back, falling back to my friends, panting heavily and swiping the sweat off my face while holding Ron steady. 

Hermione, gasping for breath, scrambled aside and snatched our wands. I guided Ron to the four-poster, settling him softly on it and surveying the bed for an extra pillow to keep his leg up. 

His hands were clutching on his broken leg and his pale face tinged with green. Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall, his thin chest rose and fell rapidly as I watched Harry walk slowly nearer, his wand pointed directly at Black's heart. 

I finally stumbled onto a pillow, I hoisted Ron's broken leg up and placed the dusty pillow on it. Ron moaned with pain. 

"Going to kill me, Harry?" Black whispered. "You killed my parents," Harry said, his voice shaking slightly. Blacked looked up at Harry with his shrunken eyes. 

"I don't deny it, but if you knew the whole story-" Harry scoffed, "The whole story?" he repeated, "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know." He said, his wand shaking with rage. 

"You've got to listen to me, you'll regret it if you don't... You don't understand..." Black said with a note of urgency in his voice now.

"I understand a lot better than you think, you never heard her, did you? My mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing me... and you did that... you did it..." Harry said, his voice more shook than ever. 

Either of them couldn't say another word when Soupy and Crookshanks jumped onto Black's chest and wouldn't shift. I gasped, holding my trembling hand over my mouth. Soupy is working with Black? Harry raised the wand, Hermione and I let out a dry sob. 

Harry stood there frozen, wand poised, Black staring up at him, Crookshanks and Soupy on his robes, Ron's staggered breathing, my quiet gasps, and Hermione staying silent. And then came a new sound.

Muffled footsteps were echoing through the floor- someone was moving downstairs. 

"WE'RE UP HERE! WE'RE UP HERE - SIRIUS BLACK - QUICK!" Hermione screamed suddenly. 

Black made a startled movement that almost ripped the cats off. The footsteps were thundering up the stairs, I hoped it was anyone who could help us. I couldn't stand to be in blood drenched clothes anymore. 

The door of the room burst open in a shadow of red sparks and Uncle Remus came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. My breath restored, my face brightened with joy. My uncle was coming to save the day.

His eyes flickered over Ron, lying down, to me, shaking in a corner, Hermione, cowering next to the door, and Harry standing there with his wand covering Black, and then Black, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Uncle Remus shouted, Harry's wands flew once more out of his hands along with the three Hermione had. Lupin caught them all deftly, then moved into the room, staring at Black with the two cats lying protectively on his chest. 

It was all over now, Black was going to the dementors, Harry could be safe, Hermione could stop worrying, Ron could get his leg fixed and I could draw a nice, long bath. 

Then Uncle Remus spoke in an odd voice, a voice that shook with some suppressed emotion. 

"Where is he, Sirius?" My face dropped, I looked over to my Uncle. What was he trying to say? I turned over to Black, who was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. 

Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. I looked over to Ron, my lip beginning to quiver.

"But then..." Remus muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless -" Remus's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see - 

"Unless he was the one... unless you switched... without telling me?" Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Remus's face, Black nodded. 

"Uncle Remus?" I questioned, getting out from my ball and standing to my feet. 

"Professor, what's going on-?" Harry interrupted loudly. Uncle Remus lowered his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. He walked over to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that the cats fell to the floor and embraced Black like a brother.

My heart fell to my stomach, my hand slowly pointed at my very, dear uncle and a lunatic murderer. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" I yelled, stomping over to the pair and gripping the bracelet he had bought me. "UNCLE? I CALLED YOU UNCLE!" I screamed, my eyes bulging at the insane sight I saw. Remus turned around, letting go of Black. "Rita Pita," he muttered. 

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed. "You - you -" She stammered. "Hermione-" he calmly said. "- you and him!" she screamed, walking beside me. 

"How could you do this, Uncle Remus?" I whimpered, twisting the bracelet, he got me nervously. I flipped my hair, tapping my foot aggressively. 

"I didn't tell anyone! I've been covering up for you!" Hermione shrieked. "Hermione, listen to me, please! I can explain -" Uncle Remus shouted. 

"I trusted you, and all the time you've been his friend!" Harry shouted at Uncle Remus. 

"I told you everything, Uncle Remus. I idolized you, you watched me grow up - you - you even -!" I stammered, tripping over my words and the rage filling up beside me. 

"You're wrong, I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now - Let me explain..." Uncle Remus said.

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants Harry dead too - he's a werewolf!" There was a ringing silence, everyone's eyes were on Uncle Remus, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale. 

I tapped the gem on my necklace two times, I needed my Dad more than ever. 

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione, only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry dead..." An odd shiver passed over Remus's face. 

"But I won't deny that I am a werewolf." he said, looking directly at me with an apologetic look on his face. Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Uncle Remus made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped. "Get away from me, werewolf!"

I crossed my arms against my chest, and in three seconds, a loud 'POP!' Was heard. 

There my dad was, in velvety black robes, with a fantastic head of curly black hair that settled nicely above his shoulders. He had a nicely groomed beard and curled moustache that framed his square face nicely. He was wearing white silk gloves and his hands were settled on his hips. My dad was a fairly intelligent man, he was severely goofy and a bit of a ditz. 

"No, no, honey, you have to make sure that the-" Dad blinked rapidly, looking at his new surroundings. He stared at me at first and furrowed his eyebrows, but the angry posture I found myself in surprised him.

"Of course, I'd love to see my beautiful daughter, but that was sort of unexpected, don't you think, darling?" he said in the most pleasant voice. I yanked his white glove, pointing at the sight of mass murderer Sirius Black in the flesh. 

"Ray?", both Black and Remus questioned, observing the charming, lavish man standing beside me. 

"SIRIUS?" My dad yelped, taken off guard and jerked out his wand, aiming it directly at him. 

"No! No!" Remus yelled, gesturing for my dad to put his wand down. 

"No?" my dad questioned, glancing at the dusty room he appeared to not be bothered by.

"Did -? Is he-?" My dad asked, glancing at my Uncle, it was like they were reading each other's minds, who nodded graciously with the biggest grin. 

"Sirius, my brother. I've missed you." My father sighed, advancing towards Sirius and embracing him, just like Uncle Remus did, like a brother. 

"That's mine." Dad said charmingly, pointing at me with a bright smile. "Look, Rita's all grown up! Remember when she was just a tyke and bounced up and down in her stroller, and she's best friends with James' kid, Harry. How splendid." He giggled, clapping Sirius's shoulder. 

"YOU TOO?" I yelled, pressing my hand against my face and staring wildly at them. "HOW COME I WASN'T AWARE OF ANYTHING? AND - UNCLE REMUS IS A WEREWOLF!" I blurted out, looking directly at my father's dark eyes. 

"How'd she find out?" My ditzy father asked, nudging Sirius with a chuckle. He seemed to already have known. 

"Her friend, Hermione. Er- how long have you known?" Remus questioned, turning to Hermione.

"Ages, since I did Professor Snape's essay..." Hermione whispered. "He'll be delighted, he assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant..." Uncle Remus said coolly. 

"Missed Snapey Snape." My dad butted in, I rolled my eyes at him. 

"Did you check the lunar chart and realize I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?" asked Uncle Remus, kind of infatuated with Hermione's knowledge. 

"Both." Hermione said quietly. Uncle Remus forced a laugh. 

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione." he complimented her, I scoffed. 

"I'm not, if I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!" Hermione whispered, her voice tense. 

"But they already know, at least the staff do." Uncle Remus retorted. "Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf? Is he mad?" Ron gasped. 

"I can't believe this is happening right now." I muttered, I couldn't wrap my head around this. 

"Some of the staff thought so, he had to work very hard to convince teachers that I'm trustworthy-" Remus added. 

"AND HE WAS WRONG! YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME!" Harry yelled, pointing at Black who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks and Soupy followed, sitting on his lap and purring.

Ron edged away from both, dragging his leg. "I have not been helping Sirius, if you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look -" He separated Harry's, Ron's, Hermione's and my wand and threw them back to each owner. 

"There!" Uncle Remus said, placing his wand into his belt, "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?" he asked, wildly staring at us. 

"Dad. Unarm yourself." I sternly said, crossing my arms, and wrapping my hair up and sticking my wand in it. My dad awkwardly laughed, placing his wand in his back pocket. 

"If you haven't been helping him, how did you know he was here?" Harry said with a furious stare at Black. "The map, the Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it -" he said, but Harry interjected. 

"You know how to work it?" Harry asked suspiciously. "Of course I know how to work it," Uncle Remus said, waving his hand impatiently. 

"I helped write it. I'm Moony - that was my friend's nickname for me at school." Uncle Remus explained and my mouth dropped.

"You wrote-?" Harry asked, bulged eyed. 

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Rita, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?" Uncle Remus said, pacing up and down, looking at the four of us with little patches of dust rose at his feet. 

"You've been wearing your father's old Cloak, Harry-" he added, but Harry interrupted while Sirius and Dad shared a look of excitement. 

"How'd you know about the Cloak?" Harry asked. 

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it..." Uncle Remus said, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map.

I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and you set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

Me and Harry shared a puzzled expression. "It was only us," I added.

"What? No, we weren't!" Harry said. 

"I couldn't believe my eyes," Uncle Remus said, still pacing, ignoring Harry and I's interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" Harry said. "And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labelled Sirius Black... I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled the two of you into the Whomping Willow-" Uncle Remus added, but now, Ron interrupted. 

"One of us!" Ron interjected angrily. 

"No, Ron, two of you." Uncle Remus corrected this. He stopped his pacing, his eyes moving over Ron. 

"Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" he asked evenly.

"What? What's Scabbers got to do with it?" Ron asked, his voice becoming a bit higher. 

"Everything, could I see him, please?" Uncle Remus coolly said.

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him from escaping. Crookshanks and Soupy stood up on Black's legs and made a soft hissing noise. 

Remus moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers. 

"What? What's my rat got to do with anything?" Ron repeated anxiously, holding Scabbers close and looking scared. 

"Blimey." My father suddenly said, throwing his hands up in the air. "That little cowardly idiot." he added, biting his lip before he said anything else. 

"That's not a rat." croaked Sirius Black suddenly. "What d'you mean - of course he's a rat -" Ron argued. 

"No, he's not, he's a wizard -" Uncle Remus said, but my father jumped over the broken rubbish and hovered over Ron, "He's a coward." he added, staring down at Ron's clasped hands. "An Animagus, by the name of Peter Pettigrew." Black said suddenly.


	15. moony, bandit, wormtail, padfoot and prongs

The absurdity of this statement took a few seconds to settle in. My mind was blown, didn't Peter Pettigrew die when Black murdered him? It can't be true at all. 

Then Ron's voice filled the room. "You're all mental." he stared at the three grown men hovering over him whose eyes were following the squeaking rat in his hands.

"Ridiculous!" Hermione shouted faintly, her eyes were wide open like they were from coming out of their sockets. 

"The lies!" I roared, staring directly at the men who were supposed to be my guardians. 

"Peter Pettigrew's dead! He killed him twelve years ago!" Harry said, pointing directly at Black whose face twitched consecutively. 

"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared. "But little Peter got the better of me... not this time, though!" 

And then Soupy and Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as Black lunged at Scabbers; Ron's painful yell echoed through the room as Black's weight fell on his broken leg. 

"Get off his broken leg!" I yelled, reaching out for Black, but my dad threw my hand away. 

"Sirius, NO!" Remus yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black off away from Ron again.

My dad heaved Black's arm and linked it tightly to prevent him from moving. 

"WAIT! You can't just do it like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain -" Remus scolded Black as my dad and him held Black back. 

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, attempting to throw them both off. Black's hand managed to claw the air, trying to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck, trying to escape.

"Sirius! We need to explain to the children!" My dad snarled, dragging Black inches away from Ron. 

"They've - got - a - right - to - know - everything!" Remus panted, trying to help strain Black. 

"Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it I don't even understand! And Harry - you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!" Remus said, calming Black down.

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands. "

All right, then, tell them whatever you like. Make it quick, Remus, Ray. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..." Ron's lip quivered as he looked up at the men who were implying that his rat was a man.

"You're all nutters, all three of you," he said shakily, looking at Harry, Hermione and I for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off." He tried to heave himself on his good leg, but Remus pointed his wand again, at Scabbers. 

"You're going to hear me out, Ron, just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen." My dad's eyes shifted to me, like he was apologetic for lying to me all these years. My body shivered while my heart was beating out of my chest. 

I was so clueless about everything, but could I really trust the two people in my life that supported me and watched me grow up? It seemed like my mind and heart were in a clash over what to think, my mind telling me to grab my friends and run away from the three psychopaths but my heart fighting back and telling me to stay put and listen to what my once beloved, trusted godfather and actual father had to say.

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed back and forth, overbalanced, I extended my arm to reach out for him, but Hermione's hand clasped around mine. Her eyes met with mine, she was so frightened, just like I was.

Harry caught Ron and pushed him back onto the bed. He then turned and looked at both my father and Remus. 

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die, a whole street of them..." Harry said. 

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" Black said savagely, watching Scabbers struggle in Ron's hands. 

"I remember the night vividly, it came to my wife and I as a shock. You wouldn't believe that two of your best friends had been caught up in a street fight and one of them murdered the other. But the evidence came out..." My father began, shaking his head slowly and pursing his lips.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter, I believed it myself - until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's map never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry." Remus said, nodding. 

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and I turned slowly to one another, our hands together, we were both shaking like a mad man. I took a deep breath, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Why was my father and my uncle playing along with Black's silly tricks? 

Hermione gulped, turning away from me and up at the two men. She spoke with a trembling voice, trying to talk to them both sensibly. 

"But, Mr. Vixen... Professor Lupin... Scabbers can't be Pettigrew... it just can't be true, you know it can't..." she was trying to come off as calm, but the tremble in her voice showed she wasn't.

"Why can't it be true?" Uncle Remus said calmly, as though we were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem with grindylows.

"Because... because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework - the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal; they become, and their marking and things... and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list." she explained, when Hermione does her homework, she really becomes devoted to it. 

"Jesus Christ." I mouthed, rolling my eyes, then staring at Hermione while my mouth hung.

Uncle Remus and my father shared a glance, they were both smirking as if they were proud of something. Then, they both laughed, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. 

"Rita was right, Hermione is very bright." Dad said through a giggle. 

"Right again, Hermione! But the Ministry never knew that there used to be four unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts." Uncle Remus explained.

Hermione and I now shared a glance of confusion. What did he mean by this?

"If you're going to share the story, get a move on, Remus. I've waited twelves years, I'm not going to wait much longer." Black snarled, still watching Scabbers' every desperate move. 

"A fan favourite story," Dad clapped his hands excitedly, smiling widely. 

"All right... But you'll both need to help me. I only know how it began..." Uncle Remus began, breaking off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of its own accord. All seven of us stared at it. Then Uncle Remus strode towards it, looking out into the landing, 

"No one there..." he jerked his hand back and forth, watching it steadily. 

"This place is haunted!" Ron yelled, shaking his hand unbelievably fast.

"It's not," Uncle Remus began, still looking at the door in a puzzled sort of way.

"The Shrieking Shack was never haunted... The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." My eyebrows raised, looking puzzled at my father who nodded in response.

Uncle Remus pushed the greying hair out of his eyes, thought of a moment, then said, "That's where all of this starts - with my becoming of a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten... and if I hadn't been so foolhardy..." He looked sober and tired. I actually started to feel terrible inside, was he really not lying to me?

Ron started to interrupt, shifting in the bed, and Hermione and I shot at him and glared at him. 

"Be quiet!" I yelled, Hermione shouted "Shhh!", we were both staring at Uncle Remus very intently.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform... I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. But then Professor Dumbledore became headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school..." Uncle Remus sighed, then looked at Harry.

"I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house" - he looked miserably around the room - "the tunnel that leads to it - they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was planted at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."

I looked at my knees pressed against my chest, my heart no longer pounded out of my chest, but it felt as if it fell into my stomach. Poor Uncle Remus, I thought. I even regret yelling at him and ignoring how he felt.

"My transformations in those days were - were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing the particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumour... Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare to approach it... But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I ever been in my life. For the first time, I had friends, four great friends. Raymond Vixen..." - He looked at my father, they both shared a loving look with a smile. - "Sirius Black... Peter Pettigrew... and, of course, your father Harry - James Potter." 

Harry immediately turned to me, his eyes were about to pop out of his head just by staring at me. My dad let out an excited chuckle, pressing his hand onto his cheek as he watched Harry and I.

"Now, my four friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her... I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth... And they didn't desert me at all." 

My dad clapped his hand on Remus's shoulder, I smiled at the pair who were best friends since the start. 

"Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformation not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi." He proudly said, darting from Black and my father. 

My eyes perked up at my father, who was bounced, proudly and excited, that I knew his secret. I was speechless.

"My dad too?" Harry asked, astounded. "Yes, indeed. It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong - one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it." -

Uncle Remus' eyes wandered over to mine, he smiled softly at me. - 

"Your father here was definitely one of the brightest students," he laughed, "He tried so hard to help, sticking his ditzy head in countless books with James and Sirius. But Peter, he needed all the help he could get from the three. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could turn into a different animal at will." 

Hermione cut him off, "But how did that help you?" she asked, sounding puzzled. 

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals, a werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James' Invisibility Cloak. They transformed... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them." Uncle Remus explained thoroughly.

"Hurry up, Remus," Black snarled, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face. 

"Oh, relax, Sirius! Remus didn't even get to the good part, and you know it." My father said, swatting his hand at Sirius, giving him a side eye. 

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there... Well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we all could transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds by night. Sirius, James and Ray all turned into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did... And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Ray is Bandit. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs." I couldn't believe the discovery that just unravelled in front of my face. 

"Is that why only Harry and I are shown on the maps?" I asked, Harry seemed to have questions as well. 

"What sort of animal -" he began, but Hermione cut him off. 

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?" Hermione scolded the three men, I was shocked at how even Hermione could scold men that were way older than us.

"A thought that still haunts me, and there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless - carried away with our own cleverness. I sometimes feel guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course... he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. 

He never knew I led four fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventures. And I haven't changed..." his face hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice.

"All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me... and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. 

He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And, so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using Dark Arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it... so in a way, Snape's been right about me all along." This statement made both my father and Black whip their heads to stare at Uncle Remus with a perplexed look.

"Snape? "What's Snape got to do with it?" Black said harshly, finally taking his eyes off of Scabbers. 

"Snape? Is Snapey sending you owls?" My father asked harshly, scoffing at the name. 

"He's here, Sirius, Ray. He's been teaching here as well." Uncle Remus said heavily, looking at the four of us. 

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons... You see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me -" Black made a derisive noise.

"It served him right, sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to... hoping he could get us expelled..." Black sneered, looking at my father who rolled his eyes. 

"He was awfully annoying," he said. Always trying to peep at us... Wherever we went... Whenever, at any given moment." My father spoke up, his eyebrows furrowed when he talked about Snape. That's probably why Snape hates me.

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month. We were in the same year. You know , we - er - didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James' talent on the Quidditch field... anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be - er - amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do is prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it - if he'd got as far as this house, he'd met a fully grown werewolf - but your father, Harry, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life. Snape glimpsed at me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anyone but from that time on he knew what I was..." Uncle Remus explained, my father and Sirius rolled their eyes, they clearly didn't care. 

"So, that's why Snape doesn't like you, because he thought you were in on the joke?" Harry asked slowly.

"That's right." said a cold voice, sneering from the wall behind Uncle Remus. Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Uncle Remus.


	16. the truth

I let out a little shriek when Snape, with his sinister dark eyes, shot up at Uncle Remus.

Hermione's scream was so piercing that I couldn't hear clearly for a few moments. 

Black leapt to his feet while Dad turned around, staring directly at the greasy man with beady eyes. 

Harry jumped like he'd received an electric shock.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow." Snape said, throwing the Cloak side, careful to keep his wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest.

"Very useful, Potter, I thank you..." I felt a sudden chill run through my spine as the Cloak grazed against my fingertips, it was embedded with some ambience since Snape had it on top of his disgusting head. Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph.

"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?", he said, his dark eyes glittering like the Great Lake. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did... lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus -" Remus began, but Snape overrode him. "I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle. Lupin, and here's the proof. Even got your other friend, Vixen, here with you to accompany you in crime. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -" 

Uncle Remus's face turned pale white. "Severus, you're making a mistake. You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Ray wasn't - Sirius isn't here to kill Harry-" he said with a sudden urgency in his voice.

"Three more for Azkaban tonight, I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this... He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin, a tame werewolf -" Snape's eyes now gleaming fanatically.

"You fool, is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?" Uncle Remus said softly. 

'BANG!' Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted around Remus' mouth, wrists, ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. 

No, I thought. I tried to lunge over to my defenseless uncle that was gasping on the floor, but Snape turned right around, his black eyes striking me.

Hermione wrapped her hand around my wrist, pulled me back and slowly shook her head.

With a roar of rage, Black started toward Snape, but Snape pointed his wand between Black's eyes. "Give me a reason, give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will." he hissed in a whisper. Black stood there, paralysed, he walked backwards, crashing into my father who caught him before he toppled over.

"Severus, please." My father started, his hand stretching out towards him, Snape's wand whipped towards my father now, right in between his eyes just like he did to Black.

"Don't want to end up like a certain someone..." Snape hissed and Black placed a gentle hand on my father's shoulder.

I gulped, even if the most important people to me, lied to me, I couldn't stand there and watch them get bullied by Snape. The four of us all shot to glance at one another. 

Harry stood paralysed, not knowing what to do.

Ron looked just as confused as Harry and I did, he was still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. 

Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape, and in a breathless voice. "Professor Snape - it - wouldn't hurt to hear what they have to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school, you, Vixen, Potter, Weasley are out-of-bounds in the company of a convicted murderer, a scam artist, and a werewolf. For once in your life, hold your tongue." Snape spat at Hermione. 

"But if - if there was a mistake -" she nervously added, clenching her hands ever-so-tightly. 

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, which was still pointing at Black's face. Hermione fell silent.

Anger rose through my body, how troubling of a past does one could have? I couldn't believe a grown man could degrade one of his students like that. How horrid does one have to be? 

"HOW RUDE COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE?" I spat back to Snape, my face turning bright red while I slammed my foot into the creaky floorboards. 

"Shut it. I will not be spoken to like that. I don't want to listen to your stupid voice anymore." Snape retorted, his eyebrows scrunched together like a hairy caterpillar, struggling to escape off his forehead. 

"B-" I started to speak, but Hermione pressed her shaking hand over my mouth to stop me from continuing.

"Vengeance is very sweet, how I hoped I would be the one to catch you..." Snape breathed, his face was curled up in the most wicked smile he could muster.

"The joke's on you again, Severus, as long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle," he jerked his hand towards Ron, "I'll come quietly..." Black snarled. This seemed to amuse Snape.

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silky, "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black.... Pleased enough to give you a little Kiss, I daresay..."

What little color there was in Black's face left it.

"You've - you've got to hear me out," he croaked, "The rat - look at the rat -"

But there was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that I have never seen before. He seemed beyond reason, he didn't care what they had to say. He wanted revenge.

"Come on, all of you," he said, clicking his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Uncle Remus flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf, will the scam artist want a go too?" He grinned maliciously, pointing his wand at my father.

Long, snakelike cords slipped around his mouth, ankles, wrists; the sight horrified me. I let out a weak gasp, my eyes about to pop out of the sockets, watching him stare directly at me with remorse in his eyes.

Just then, Harry crossed the room in three strides and blocked the door. "Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already," Snape snarled at Harry, "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"

"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year, I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then?" Harry questioned. 

"Don't ask me to fathom how a werewolf's mind works, get out of the way, Potter." hissed Snape.

"YOU'RE PATHETIC! JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN!" Harry yelled, which took everyone by surprise. Inside, I was cheering for him.

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black - now, get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"

I couldn't believe the disgusting way Snape was talking. Without even thinking, I raised my wand, pointing it directly at Snape's mad self. "Expelliarmus!" I yelled, and that wasn't the only voice heard. Ron, Harry, Hermione had tried to Disarm Snape at exactly the same moment.

There was a blast that made the door rattle on its hinges; Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down to the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from his hair. He was knocked out.

Snape's wand soared in a high arc and landed on the bed next to Crookshanks.

"You shouldn't have done that, you should have left him to me..." Black said, looking at Harry.

Remus and my father were struggling with the vines digging into their skin. Black squatted down to untie them. 

"We attacked a teacher... We attacked a teacher..." Hermione whimpered beside me, running her hands through her hair and widening her eyes with her fingers to take in what we all participated in. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble-" She stared at the lifeless Snape with lifeless eyes.

Remus and Dad straightened up, rubbing spots where the vines pricked them most. "Dad!" I yelled, running over the lifeless Snape and into my father's chest. 

"Thank you, Rita." he whispered in my ear as I took a deep breath and wrapped my arms tighter around his waist. I haven't seen him in over two years, kind of ironic how we ended up in such a terrible situation to see one another.

"Thank you, Harry." Remus said. 

"I'm not saying, I believe you." Harry retorted. 

"Then, it's time we offered you some proof, you boy - give me Peter. Now." Black instructed, looking directly at Ron, who whimpered.

Ron clutched Scabbers close to his chest. "Come off it, are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean..." he said weakly, looking up to me, Hermione and Harry for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat - there are a million rats - how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"Beats me." My father croaked, shrugging at Remus, who turned to me for support. 

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Remus, turning to Black and frowning slightly. "How did you find out where he was?"

Black put one of his claw-like hands inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held it out to us. It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"What? You just have a random piece of the boy and his family in your pocket this whole time? Sirius?" My father questioned, breaking from my grasp and clapping his hand on Remus' shoulder.

"How did you get this?" Remus asked, thunderstruck. 

"Fudge, when he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me this paper. And there was Peter, on the front page... this boy's shoulder... I knew him at once... how many times did I see him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts... to where Harry was..."

"All this time..." My father said, astounded. 

"My God," Remus said softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again, "His front paw..."

"What about it?" Ron said defiantly. 

"He's got a toe missing." Black said. 

"Of course, so simple... so brilliant... he cut it off himself?" Remus breathed. 

"Peter's gotten pretty clever...but not clever enough." My dad hissed, staring down at the squealing rat.

"Just before he transformed, when I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself - and sped down into the sewer with other rats..." Black said.

"Didn't you ever hear Ron? The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger." Remus explained.

"Delivered to his mother, that sly little fu-" Dad croaked, extending his arms towards Ron, but both Black and Remus held him back. "It's all because of stupid little Peter." he hissed, twitching and clawing the air.

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right-"

"Twelves years, in fact, didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?" Remus asked.

"We - we've been taking good care of him!" Ron declared.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he? I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again..." Remus explained, raising an eyebrow at Ron. 

"He's scared of those mad cats!" Ron said, nodding toward Crookshanks and Soupy who were purring and rubbing their heads together on the bed.

Everything seemed to be locking in, Scabbers had been looking terribly ill before he met Crookshanks. Ever since Ron's return from Egypt and the time when Black had escaped.

"Those cats aren't mad," Black said hoarsely. He reached out a bony hand and stroke Crookshank's fluffy head. 

"He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. HE recognized Peter for what he was doing right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It took him a while before he trusted me. Even got this one to come on board with him. She is a lovely partner in crime to him. Finally, I managed to communicate with both of them what I was after, and they've been helping me." Black now put his other bony hand on Soupy's silk head.

"Seriously?" I yelled, staring down at the two cats and up at Black. 

"What do you mean?" Hermione breathed.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't... brought along her to try again, they couldn't... so instead they teamed up and stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me... As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table..."

My eyes twitched over the obscure nonsense being mounted into the room. Am I hearing these accusations correctly?

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it..." Black croaked. "These cats - Crookshanks and Soupy, did you call them? - told me Peter had left blood on the sheets... I suppose he bit himself... Well, faking his death worked once..."

My mind wandered again, clouded with the idea of two cats communicating with a man.

"And why did he fake his death? Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!" Harry furiously blurted out.

My father clapped his hands over his face, he seemed to just want to get a hold of Scabbers.

"No, Harry-" Remus started.

"And now you've come to finish him off!" Harry yelled.

Black nodded, taking an evil look down at Scabbers. "Yes, I have."

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted. 

"Harry, don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down - but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father - Sirius tracked Peter down -" Remus explained, trying to plead with Harry and try to make him understand.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE! HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!" Harry yelled. He was pointing at Black, who shook his head slowly; the sunken eyes were suddenly overbright.

"Harry... I as good as killed them. I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me... I'm to blame, I know it... The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies... I realized what Peter must've done... what I'd done..." His voice broke and he turned away. My father took the liberty of embracing him like a brother again, this reminded them of the trauma they've developed. Their best friends, dead because of someone they called their best friend.

"Enough of this," Remus said, with a steely note in his voice. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened, Ron give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Remus tensely. 

"Force him to show himself, if he really is a rat, it won't hurt him." 

Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and Remus took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging from his head. The three of them took a deep breath, glancing at one another.

My father pulled out his wand from his belt, Black took Snape's wand from the bed. 

"Ready, Sirius, Ray?" Uncle Remus asked. 

"Together? Black asked quietly, his wet eyes suddenly burning in his face. 

"Yeah," My father croaked, sniffing a bit.

"I think so," Uncle Remus said, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One - two - THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from the three wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small grey form twisting madly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. There was another blinding flash of light and then -

Like a tree sprouting abruptly, a head shooting upward from the ground; limbs sprouting; a moment later, a small fat man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks and Soupy were spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on their backs, standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than me, and that's saying a lot since I'm the shortest in the group. His thin, colourless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald spot on top. Possibly because of stress. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who lost weight in a short time. 

His skin looked grubby just like Scabbers' fur, I believe the rat must have evolved in his body, making him have ratlike features. His pointed nose, watery eyes and buck teeth. He was disturbingly unattractive. He looked around at all of us, his breathing fast and shallow. His eyes darted back and forth from the dart.

"Well, hello, Peter. Long time, no see," Remus said pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. 

"Time has sure taken its toll on you, Pete." Dad interjected, looking down at the ratlike man. 

"S-Sirius... R-Remus... R-Ray..." Even his voice was squeaky like a rat's squeal. His eyes darted toward the door. "My friends... my old friends..."

Black and Dad had the same idea, pointing their wands at Pettigrew, but Uncle Remus seized them around the wrist, giving them a warning look, then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice and causal.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed-"

"We just wanted to know what your perspective was, Pete." Dad added in, twirling his wand around between his fingers. Something I wanted to learn how to do.

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, beads of sweat were breaking out on his pasty face. "Ray," he gasped again. "You don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus... Ray"

"So we've heard," Uncle Remus said a bit more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so-"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked out suddenly, pointing at Black. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too... You've got to help me, Remus..." 

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes. 

"Peter!" My father yelled, stepping in front Black." Take a deep breath, no one's going to hurt you... yet," Dad coughed, itching the back of his neck, "you've always been such a Nervous Nellie. Now - answer Remus' questions, truthfully."

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out." Remus said, adding on to my father.

"Yet? Sorted things out?" Pettigrew squealed, looking wildly at his three friends, then at the boarded windows, and the door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban? When nobody has ever done it before?" Remus asked, his brow furrowed. 

"You're talking bollocks, Peter." Dad croaked. 

"He's got Dark powers, the rest of us can only dream of! How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly.

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room. "Voldemort taught me tricks?" he said.

Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him. 

"What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?" Black said in a menacing way. 

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius-" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face shining with sweat, he looked like rubbish.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years. You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter... They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them... I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double cross-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters on your information... and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out there, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways... If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter-"

"Don't know... what you're talking about...," Pettigrew said, his voice more shrill than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up to Uncle Remus. "You don't believe this - this madness, Remus - Ray-" Even I was so sure that Pettigrew was clearly having some sort of suppressed trauma hidden in his nappy hair.

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," Remus said evenly.

"Are you hiding from something?" Dad croaked, his hand twirling the wand even more vigorously now.

"Innocent, but scared! Hiding away! If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban - the spy, Sirius Black!" Peter whined.

Black's face contorted."How dare you," he growled, sounding suddenly like the bear sized dog he could transform into. 

"I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter - I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always like big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us... me, Remus, Ray... and James..." 

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath. "Me, a spy... must be out of your mind... never... don't know how you can say such a-"

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward. "I thought it was the perfect plan... a bluff... Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream, they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you... It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you can hand him the Potters."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly, I couldn't catch any words he was mumbling, I was too distracted by how miserable he could be. 

"Professor Lupin, can - can I say something?" Hermione asked timidly. "Well - Scabbers - I mean, this - this man - he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before?"

"There!" said Pettigrew, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. 

"But doesn't it bother you just a bit that you, a grown man, were sleeping in a fourteen-year olds' dormitory? And My God, I can't believe I laid a hand on you." I asked, acknowledging one of the main things that I noticed; I gagged over my shoulder, noticing a huge piece of flaky skin on the back of his head. 

Ron's eyes wandered to mine, his face was frozen. The beloved rat was now a grown shrunken man that has been sleeping in his bed for years.

The three grown men glanced over to me, shrugged and shared a look with one another. They seemed to think it was pretty daft too.

"I had to disguise myself... Erm - But, thank you! You see, guys? I have never hurt a hair on Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why, because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizarding family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him..." Black said, staring at Pettigrew.

Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times. He seemed to have lost the ability to talk. If anyone looked more guilty, it would have been a shock to me.

"Er - Mr. Black - Sirius?" Hermione spoke up again. Black jumped at being addressed like this and stared at Hermione as though being spoken to politely was something he'd long forgotten. "If you don't mind me asking, how - how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I-" But Uncle Remus silenced him with a look. 

Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, not as if he were annoyed at her. He seemed to be pondering her answer. "I don't know how I did it," he said slowly,

"I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am... helped me keep my powers... so when it all became... too much... I could transform in my cell... become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know..." he swallowed. I shivered at the thought of a dementor, by far one of the scariest things I could witness. "They feel their way toward people by sensing their emotions... They could tell that my feelings were less - less human, less complex when I was a dog... but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand... but then I saw Peter in that picture... I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry.... Perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again..."

Pettigrew was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though being hypothesized.

"... ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies... and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors... So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive... it was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it... It wasn't a happy feeling... it was an obsession... but it gave me the strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog... It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused... I was thin, very thin... thin enough to slip through the bars... I swam as a dog back to the mainland.... I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts ground as a dog, I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry..." He looked at Harry and didn't look away.

"Believe me, believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them." And finally, Harry believed him. He nodded at Black.

"No!" Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying. 

"Sirius - it's me... it's Peter... your friend... you wouldn't..." Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled. 

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them." said Black.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this... Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter . I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head. 

"Forgive me, Remus." said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend, and will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?" Uncle Remus said, sprouting up a smile at his old friend. 

"Of course." Black said, and the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face.

"No!" Pettigrew screamed again, skidding over to my father. He gripped his well kempted robes and tugged on them. "Please!... Raymond... old friend!" he shrieked out, pleading everything on top of Dad's shoulders. 

My father looked down at the man, shaking his head slowly, "Peter... for years I wondered... how could he ever do such a thing to his friend... his friend he would always have back... how could he? I never in a million years would have thought Sirius betrayed the Potters in the way he did for Voldemort. When the news came out... Claudie and I were having tea with Remus. My daughter was crawling on the floor under the table, babbling. My daughter, you had put your filthy hands on... an owl hit my window, Remus tugged it open and there it came shooting in... a note from Sirius... do you understand how terrible it was for my wife to read that the girl she grew up with was now lifeless because of a dirtbag like you?" My father croaked, his wand shaking from his nerves. He gulped slowly, his eyes not leaving the begging man who was still tugging on his robes.

"Raymond! Please..." he begged, but my father shook his head and stifled a small laugh. 

"I don't understand why... or how... I couldn't put my finger on it being... You, Pete. Always scared, always hiding behind the four of us since we were first years. Sirius, James, Remus... Peter" his face scrunched up like he was disgusted to even say Pettigrew's name.

".... The boys I grew up with, my old friends.... Countless days of doing nothing, talking about whatever we wanted... maybe I treasured the friendship I had been gifted with from James, Sirius, Remus and... you... I wouldn't think there could've been a time where one of them could have turned to the Dark side and rat their own out?" He ripped off Pettigrew's hands, tossing him over to the side. His hand raised, unstably his wand, almost could have fallen out of his hand.

"Bandit..." Black croaked behind Dad, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. 

"Forgive me, Padfoot. I-" Dad shook his head, he must have felt so terrible. 

"All is forgiven, Bandit, old friend." Uncle Remus came behind my father, his feet shifting slowly and clapping a hand on Dad's shoulder. 

"Now..." Uncle Remus choked, looking over to Black. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so," Uncle Remus grinned. "Together." Dad smiled menacingly.

"You wouldn't... you won't..." gasped Pettigrew, and he scrambled around to Ron, "Ron... haven't I been a good friend... a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you... you're on my side, aren't you?" 

Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion. "I let you sleep in my bed!" he exclaimed.

"Kind boy... kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron, "You won't let them do it... I was your rat... I was a good pet..."

"If you made a better rat than human, it's not so much to boast about, Peter," Black said harshly. Ron, still going paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. 

Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward to me. He seized my velvet robes, clasping them around his fingers.

"You're pathetic." I fumed, rolling my eyes at the man who now turned to me. "Kind girl... Caring girl... Help me, you like to help pathetic animals... help me... please." I scoffed down at him, utterly disgusted at the dirt who touched my robes. "I - I knew your father... please!" he squealed. 

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!" Dad threatened, his veins popping out discreetly. He made a lunge towards Pettigrew, but Uncle Remus held him back. "Get your filthy hands off of my niece," he muttered through gritted teeth.

"You WERE, my father's friend, you distrusted your friends... Rat. Don't ever try and touch me again... disgusting," I sassed, snatching my robes away from his dirty finger. I slowly backed away to the wall, shivering with fear.

Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes. "Sweet girl... clever girl... you - you won't let them... Help me." Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified. '

Hermione and I slowly turned to one another, we were inhaling and exhaling so frantically.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry. "Harry... Harry... you look just like your father... just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY? HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?" Black roared.

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed.... James would have understood, Harry... he would have shown me mercy..."

Dad, Black and Remus all strode forward, seizing Pettigrew's shoulders and collar and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort, do you deny it?" Black said, shaking.

Pettigrew burst into tears, it was horrific to watch: he looked like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor. 

"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord... you have no idea... he has weapons you can't imagine... I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and Ray and James. I never meant it to happen... He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me-"

"DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!" bellowed Black.

"He - he was taking over everywhere! W-what was there to be gained by refusing him?" gasped Pettigrew. This statement made my insides twirl together, how selfish.

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" Black said, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand! He would have killed me, Sirius!" whined Pettigrew.

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" roared Black. Black, Remus and Dad stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised. 

"You should have realized, if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter." Uncle Remus said, quietly. 

"You're selfish. Now you're going to pay for what you've caused. Sorry, Pete..." Dad hissed.

No matter how much hatred I have for Pettigrew, it made me sick to watch the three of them to kill him in front of my face. I turned to the wall, my stomach doing cartwheels and my nerves started to cause my breath to become short and my hands now shaking wildly. Hermione covered her face with her hands, turning to the wall beside me.

"NO!" Harry yelled, his footsteps paced to the others. "You can't kill him, you can't." he said breathlessly. I whipped my head over my shoulder, staring at Harry who was now covering Pettigrew from the three wands. The three men looked staggered.

"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents. This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family." Black snarled. 

"I know, we'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors... He can go to Azkaban... but don't kill him." Harry panted.

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"

"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't reckon my dad would've wanted his best friends to become killers - just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except for Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black, Remus and Dad were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands. 

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry, but think... think what he did..." said Black.

"He can go to Azkaban, if anyone deserves that place, he does..." Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him. 

"Very well, stand aside, Harry." Uncle Remus started.

Harry hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up, that's all, I swear." Remus said. 

Harry stepped out of the way and thin cords shot out from Uncle Remus's wand this time, and the next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged. 

"But if you transform, Peter, we will kill you. You agree, Harry?" growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew. I looked down at the wriggling man, and shook my head. I clapped my hands over my face, I couldn't stand to see the pitiful creature anymore. 

"Right, Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing." Uncle Remus said suddenly business-like. He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, muttered, "Ferula."

Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Remus helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince. "That's better, thanks." Ron said.

I rushed over to Ron's side, gazing up at him, with a soft smile. He returned it and shrugged a little.

"You all right, now?" I asked gingerly, cringing at the wrapped bandages around his leg. 

"Yeah, very painful, though. They... might chop it..." he said softly, sucking his teeth. 

"We'll go to Madam Pomfrey's any moment. She'll mend you up to normal." I softly replied. 

"It's too late, it's ruined, it'll have to be chopped off." he replied, shrugging and jerking his head.

"Do you need help walking?" I asked, looking up to his eyes. "Mhm..." he replied, lifting up his arm.

"Oh, you poor, poor boy." I whispered, scooping his side, and he rested his arm around my shoulder.

"What about Professor Snape?" Hermione said in a small voice, looking down at his prone figure. Ron and I turned around, Uncle Remus bent down, placing two fingers to Snape's neck. 

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him. "You were just a little - over enthusiastic. Still, out cold. Er - perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this..."

He muttered, "Mobilicorpus." And like a puppet on a string, he was pulled into a standing position, his head still lolling unpleasantly, he hung a few inches above the ground and his limp feet dangling.

Uncle Remus picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely in his pocket. 

"And two of us should be chained to this, just to make sure." Black said, nudging Pettigrew with his toe.

"I'll do it," Uncle Remus said.

"And me," Ron savagely said, limping forward. 

"Are you sure?" I whispered into Ron's ear. He nodded, letting his usual angled smirk grow. 

"Okay, be careful, Ron, you're so brave." I smiled, guiding him over to Uncle Remus. Uncle Remus looked down at the two of us, sharing a look with Ron. 

Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, his left arm chained to Remus' right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He took Scabbers' true self as a personal insult.

I walked over to my father who seemed to be mingling with Harry.

"Hey." I giggled, settling right beside Harry. 

"Your father invited me to stay over whenever. Even show me some of his old photographs with my dad." He smiled. 

"I'd like to see them too." I planted a smile, resting my arm around Harry.

Crookshanks and Soupy strode out of the room, their tails held jauntily high and all of us followed happily.


	17. the dementor's kiss

Crookshanks and Soupy led the way down the stairs, Uncle Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a six-legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting creepily along, his toes hitting each stair as we descended, held by his own wand, which was pointed at him by Sirius. Harry, Hermione, Dad and I brought up the rear.

"I'm glad everything's going back to normal." I whispered, twisting my hair into a bun and sticking my wand back in it to hold together. 

"It's going to be better than normal, Sweetheart." Dad giggled. "Harry." Dad said, Harry turned around. "You exhibit such bravery like your father. I was astonished, truly. And, Rita, the way you got angry, reminded me of Remus. Remus had such a short temper, and you definitely picked up that from him." Dad explained to the three of us, causing us to chuckle a bit.

Getting back into the tunnel was difficult. Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Remus still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. Crookshanks and Soupy were still in the lead. The four of us went after Sirius, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of them, bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. Sirius didn't care enough to prevent this.

"You know what this means?" Sirius said abruptly to Harry as we made our slow progress along the tunnel. "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"You're free." Harry said. "Yes... But I'm also - I don't know if anyone ever told you - I'm your godfather." Sirius replied with a bit of a stutter. "Yeah, I knew that." Harry said.

"Well... your parents appointed me your guardian, if anything happened to them..." Sirius said stiffly. "I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle, but... well... think about it. Once my name's cleared... if you... wanted a... a different home..."

I gasped, turning to Hermione, she had the same shocked expression on her face. "What - live with you?" Harry replied, cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leaving the Dursleys?" Harry was definitely about to burst from excitement.

"Of course, I thought you didn't want to, I understand, I thought I'd-", Sirius said quickly. "Are you insane?" Harry said, his voice easily as croaky as Sirius's.

"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a home? When can I move in?" Sirius turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling, but Sirius didn't seem to care. "You want to? You mean it?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean it!" Harry replied excitedly. Sirius's gaunt face broke into a true smile, he looked easily ten years younger. His smile was so wide, it made me extraordinarily happy for Harry.

"Um. Mr. Black?" I perked up, Harry and Sirius both turned over to me with both of the biggest smiles. "Call me, Sirius." he replied. "Er - Sirius - I would love it if you and Harry could come over to our house one time during the summer break. You are one of my dad's friends, so I would be more than happy for you, Harry and Uncle Remus, to come along." I asked awkwardly, darting from both Harry and Sirius. "I completely agree, Sirius. You're welcome whenever, just as Harry is." Dad replied, smiling so brightly at Sirius and Harry.

"Seriously?" Sirius replied, he seemed almost shocked. "We'll be more than happy to accept." Sirius replied, clapping my dad's hand and the two of them clasped their hands together and laughed.

We didn't speak again until we reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw on the trunk, because Remus, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches.

Sirius saw Snape up through the hole, then stood back for Harry, Hermione and I to pass. Dad and Sirius then followed through. At last, all of us were out.

The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without any sound, we set off. Pettigrew was wheezing, occasionally whimpering. My heart was lifted from its down spirits. Happiness was overflowing my body, nothing could break my pride.

"One wrong move, Peter." Uncle Remus threatened ahead, his wand still pointed sideways to Pettigrew's chest. Silently we tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing suddenly larger. Snape was still drifting weirdly ahead of Sirius, his chin bumping on his chest. And then -

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Our party bathed in moonlight. I looked down at my hands, greeted by the moonlight, smiling to myself at the beautiful sight. Then it hit me.

Sirius and Dad flung their arms to make us stop. I saw Uncle Remus' silhouette, he had gone rigid. His limbs began to shake. "Oh, my -" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"

"Run, run. Now." Sirius whispered.

"Uncle Remus." I gasped, my lip starting to quiver. Harry leapt forward, he tried to save Ron, but Sirius caught him and threw him back.

"Leave it to us - RUN!" Sirius yelled.

There was a terrible snarling noise. Remus' head was lengthening, so was his body. His shoulders were hunching, his hair was sprouting visibly on his face and his hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks and Soupy was on end again; they backed away slowly-

As the werewolf reared, snapping it's long jaws, Dad and Sirius disappeared from us. They had transformed. A bearlike dog and a huge spotted hyena bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it around his neck and pulled it back away from Ron and Pettigrew. The hyena pulled Ron by his feet to a safe place near a free in a nearby distance. It then retorted back, helping the dog who seized the werewolf by its neck. The hyena jumped in, clawing the werewolf's neck while the dog and werewolf were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other-

My happiness exploded out of my body and income, a sense of fear. Hermione screamed, alerting Harry and I to run away. Pettigrew dived for Remus' dropped wand. Ron, unsteadily on his bandaged leg, fell. There was a bang, a burst of light - and Ron lay motionless on the ground. Another bang - Crookshanks and Soupy flew into the air and back to the earth in a heap.

I screamed even louder than ever. "Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Remus' wand flew high into the air and out of sight. "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, dashing forward.

Pettigrew transformed. There was a howl, a rumbling growl, and a cackling laughter; then the werewolf took flight; galloping into the forest. "Sirius, he's gone. Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled.

Sirius was bleeding, gashes across his muzzle and back. And he scrambled again in an instant, the sound of his paws fading to silence as he pounded away across the grounds.

"DAD!" I shrieked, turning around to see a creature bigger than a dog. "PETER'S GONE!" The cackling laughter stopped, his dark eyes staring directly at me. He shook his animal head, galloping after Sirius. His steps fade into silence.

Harry, Hermione and I dashed over to Ron. "What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered. Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was alive, I could hear his breathing, but he didn't recognize us at all. "I don't know..." Harry replied, looking desperately around.

I fell to my feet, crawling on all fours towards Ron's body. "Ron..." I whispered. I sat on the back of my legs, hovering over his defenseless body. He didn't even move. I placed my hands on both of his shoulders, shaking them wildly for him to look at me. "Ron!" I yelled again, I turned around to Harry and Hermione. "We need to go." I whispered, turning back to Ron and shaking him one more time.

"We'd better get them up to the castle and tell someone." Harry said, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Come -"

But then, from beyond the range of our vision, we heard a yelping, a whining; a dog in pain. Seconds later, barking came louder as it got nearer. A hyena. "Sirius?" Harry yelled at my dad. "Go, Harry." I whispered, cowering on the ground with my head in my hands.

Harry set off at with a sprint, Hermione right behind him with a hyena in the lead. Ron's breathing was short, his eyes were still half open.

"Ron. I hope you're okay. I hope you're fighting to stay awake, I hope you can hear my voice." I whispered, muffedly, while the tears streamed down my cheeks.

"When this is over, we'll be back on the train. Back home. - Back to safety. You'll have a perfectly fixed leg - We'll be on the train in no time." I choked, lifting my head up to view Ron.

I set him up carefully: leaning his back against the tree trunk, his wounded leg balancing up on a rock. "It'll be okay. I promise." I whispered, sniffling loudly to fix Ron up. "It'll be okay. I promise." I repeated, crashing beside Ron. My eyes wandered to spot any sign of Harry, Dad, Sirius or Hermione.

A herd of dementors flying up in the air, casting a stream of cold beneath them. I gasped, my breathing becoming short. Seconds later, more dementors followed. My heart started to beat rapidly out of my chest. My eyes rolled into the back of my head, crashing my head into the tree.

"Shocking business... shocking.... Miracle, none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class. I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much, indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there... Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Vixen, Weasley, and Granger, Minister..."

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge their behaviour. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape... They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now... I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves... and of course Potter has had always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster-"

"Ah, well, Snape... Harry Potter, you know... we've got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."

"And yet - is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would have been suspended - at the very least - for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister - against all school rules - after all the precautions put in place for his protection - out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf, a scam artist, and a murderer - and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too-"

"Well, well... we shall see, Snape, we shall see... The boy has undoubtedly been foolish..."

I laid listening with my eyes tight, shut, listening to the Minister and Snape's conversation. I laid groggily in the bed I was placed into. The fluffy, nice smelling pillows told me we were in Madam Pomfrey's. My head ached, but it felt way better than laying defenseless on a tree trunk.

"What really amazes me most of the behaviour of dementors... you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister... By the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry and the girl -"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound them and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

Then there was a pause, my eyes shot open and everything was blurred. The clash must have been that terrible that my contacts weren't in my eyes anymore. The hospital wing was very dark. Right beside me, Madam Pomfrey was with Ron, mending him back to health.

I squinted over to Harry and Hermione, moonlight had fallen across their beds. Their eyes met with mine, we looked petrified. She pressed a finger to her lips, pointing over to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside. Madam Pomfrey came walking briskly past my feet and near Harry's bed, carrying the biggest piece of chocolate.

"Ah, you're awake." Madam Pomfrey said briskly, breaking pieces of chocolate near Harry's bedside. "How's Ron?" Harry, Hermione and I said in unison.

"He'll live, as well as you, Vixen. And as for all of you, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're - Potter, what do you think you're doing?" Harry was sitting up, putting his glasses on, and picking up his wand. "I need to see the headmaster." he said.

"Potter, it's all right." Madam Pomfrey said soothingly, " They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment now-"

"WHAT?"

Harry and Hermione jumped out of bed. But his shout was heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.

I shut my eyes again, pretending to still be asleep.

"Harry, Harry, what's this?" Fudge said. "You should be in bed - has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madam Pomfrey, anxiously.

"Minister, listen! Sirius Black's innocent!" Harry exclaimed. Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! You can't let the dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's-"

Harry seemed to have paused. "Harry, Harry, you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control...." Furdge replied, trying to calm down Harry.

"YOU HAVEN'T! YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!" Harry yelled, almost making me break cover.

"Minister, listen, please. I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and -" Hermione was now speaking, she tried to explain, but Snape must have stopped her.

"You see, Minister? Confounded, both of them... Black's done a very good job on them..."

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry roared.

"Minister! Professor! I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!" Madam Pomfrey said angrily. "I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry furiously replied, "If they'd just listen-"

Harry stopped short, he choked and a rustle of footsteps trailed back over to Harry's bed. "Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave-"

The door opened again. "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black-"

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfery hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist-"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," Dumbledore's voice said, very calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black-"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind." spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive-"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," Dumbledore said.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That was because you were knocked out, Professor!" Hermione said earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to hear-"

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" Snape snarled again. I jumped out of my bed, sitting forward as Madam Pomfrey rushed to my bedside. "Professor! Please lower your voice! You're waking up my patients." Madam Pomfrey said hysterically. She lower me back in bed, and nodded over to me.

"Now, Snape, the young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances-" Fudge said, startled.

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore said abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy- please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest-"

"This cannot wait, I must insist." Dumbledore said. Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat. "The dementors should have arrived by now, I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs." He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape. Snape didn't move.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore. "I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated. Snape took a step toward Dumbledore.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen, you haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?" Snape breathed. "My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus." Dumbledore said quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione. They both burst into speech at the same time.

I sank back into my bed, closing my eyes so Dumbledore doesn't know I'm awake.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth - we saw Pettigrew"

"- he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf-"

"- he's a rat -"

"- Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off-"

"- Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius-"

"It is your time to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," Dumbledore said, stopping the chatter from Hermione and Harry. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story except your word - and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potter's Secret-Keeper."

"Professor Lupin and Mr. Vixen can tell you-" Harry blurted out.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anyone anything. Raymond has been chasing after him, and there is no one able to find him. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little - and the fact that he and Raymond and Sirius are old friends -"

"But -"

"Listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."

"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him-"

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady - entering Gryffindor Tower with a knife - without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence." Dumbledore explained.

"Yes, I do, but I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic..." Dumbledore added on, quietly.

"What we need, is more time." Dumbledore said, which didn't hit me right away. "But - OH!" Hermione screamed out. Now, I understand. The Time Turner.

"Now pay attention, Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: You must not be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what is at stake... You - must - not - be - seen."

Footsteps were heard, it seemed as Dumbledore was approaching the door. "I am going to lock you in. It is - five minutes to midnight, Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door shut behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do?"

I jumped out of my bed, kicking off of it and rushing to Hermione's side. "Welcome." she whispered, fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them, a very long, very fine gold chain.

"Rita? What? Are you joining us?" Harry whispered, turning from me and to Hermione.

"No," I shook my head furiously. "I came to wish you both luck. Please be careful." I whispered. Hermione nodded, showing off the tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it. "Here -"

"What?" He yelled, looking at me and Hermione. "Now, go. I'll be waiting here." I whispered, waving them off and slipping back into my bed. 

"Harry, come quick!" Hermione said urgently.

And with that, I closed my eyes and hoped my best friends could do the best they can.


	18. reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end of third year.
> 
> read part 2 of tiny temper to join rita's adventures for fourth year.

Harry and Hermione slipped back into the infirmary, it seemed they were gone in less than a few seconds. They crept in and tried not to make a sound. A creak slipped from under one of them and I shot up out of my sleep. 

"Harry! Hermione!" I whispered as I bent over my legs to see them gliding into their beds. They were beaming at me, they'd done it.

A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office. I slammed back into my bed and closed my eyes. 

Madam Pomfrey was in a terrible mood. "Did I hear the headmaster leaving? Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

As Madam Pomfrey watched the two eating their chocolate quietly, there was a distant roar of fury echoing from somewhere above us.

"What was that?" Madam Pomfrey said in alarm.

Now we could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. "Really! - they'll wake everyone up! What do they think they're doing?" Madam Pomfrey scoffed.

The voices were drawing nearer.

"He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left somebody in the room with him. When this gets out-"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH - POTTER!"

"Severus - be reasonable - Harry has been locked up -" 

Then the hospital door burst open.

Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. I jumped out of my bed, sitting upward and looking horrified at Snape, who was absolutely fuming with rage. Dumbledore seemed calm, he was quite enjoying himself with a slight smile hidden under his beard. Fudge looked angry but Snape was beside himself.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER! WHAT DID YOU DO?" Snape bellowed.

"Professor Snape! Control yourself!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey.

"See here, Snape, be reasonable, this door's been locked, we just saw-" Fudge said, trying to calm him down.

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing his fingers at Harry and Hermione and then at me in the back of the ward. Spit was flying out of his mouth, I swear I saw one fly onto the bed beside me.

"Calm down, man! You're talking nonsense!" Fudge barked.

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER! HE DID IT, I KNOW HE DID IT -" shrieked Snape.

"That will do, Severus, think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?" Dumbledore said quietly.

"Of course not! I would have heard them!" Madam Pomfrey said, bristling.

"Well, there you have it, Severus, unless you are suggesting that Harry and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further." Dumbledore said calmly.

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behaviour, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced." Fudge said, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced, he's just suffered a severe disappointment." Dumbledore said quietly.

"He's not the only one! The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered, and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock!" The biggest smile grew on my face, Buckbeak escaped? "Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry..."

"And the dementors? They'll be removed from the school, I trust?" said Dumbledore.

"Oh, yes, they'll have to go," Fudge said, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent boy... Completely out of control... no, I'll have them packed back to Azkaban tonight... Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance..."

Buckbeak escaped, the dementors are leaving and more magical creatures are joining the school faculty? How exciting!

"Hagrid would like that." Dumbledore said with a swift smile at Harry and Hermione. As he and Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.

There was a low moan beside me, Ron had woken up. He sat up, rubbing his head, glancing around. 

"Oh, good, Ron. I was so worried about you..." I whispered, shaking off the sheets and standing next to his bedside.

"What - what happened? Harry? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Ray? Where's Lupin? What's going on?" he groaned. Hermione and Harry looked at each other. 

"You explain." He said to Hermione, helping himself to some more chocolate.

"Budge up, Ron." I ordered as the boy scooted down in his bed for me to sit beside him. Harry broke off pieces of chocolate, passing them over to Ron and I while Hermione took a deep breath. 

"So, it started off with this." She began, pulling out the Time Turner from under her robes.

We left the hospital wing at noon the next day, the castle seemed almost deserted. The sweltering heat and the end of the exams meant everyone was taking full advantage of another Hogsmeade visit. 

Neither Ron, Hermione or I felt like going, however, so we wandered the grounds, still talking about the extraordinary events of the previous night and wondering where Sirius and Buckbeak were now. I was overjoyed with happiness that Buckbeak was safe, it made me feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

Sitting near the lake and watching the giant squid lazily waving its giant tentacles over the water was one of my favourite things to do. My friends and I were all relaxed and took in the summer breeze grazing on our skin as the blazing sun shone down on us.

"Buckbeak escaping with Sirius was probably the greatest thing I could have heard." I said, my burgundy hair flowing in the wind. 

"Trust me, I'm in definitely high spirits now since two - two! - innocent lives were saved due to me!" Hermione exclaimed, she appeared she couldn't believe that she had done it.

"And Harry, too." Ron added, almost breaking into a bubble of laughter. 

"I'm going to make sure to send Sirius a postcard, tell him to send me plenty of photos of Buckbeak." I giggled.

"I can't believe that I let a man sleep in the same bed as me for years..." Ron huffed, closing his eyes and shaking his head slowly. 

"That's actually terrible," Hermione teased Ron with a grin.

"Be sure to tell your brothers that story. They'll have a field day with it." I added, sharing a giggle with Hermione and staring up at the sun.

"Why did it have to be me? Why couldn't it be you?" Ron sighed deeply. 

"It's bad enough that I already let that twat touch my finger." I said, put out. 

"He slept in my bed!" Ron retorted, his mouth hung open and his eyes narrowing down at me. 

"At least now, you can say you've had another in your bed." I joked, giggling to myself.

"Shut up." He scoffed, pushing my arm away from his. I grunted, pushing him in retaliation. Watching his expression allowed a malicious chuckle to leave my mouth. 

"Oh, really?" Ron replied, raising his eyebrows with a smug manner. "Yeah." I said, stifling a smile at him. He smiled back, which distracted me; he was seriously handsome, the way the sun rays hit his pale face, it was adorable. Shaking me out of my daze was his hard nudge, pushing me into Hermione's lap.

"Ron!" I yelled, pushing myself up and rolling my eyes at him. He snickered at me, covering his mouth, but the chortles wouldn't stop. "Wait! Shut up! Wait! Look at the giant squid!" Hermione shouted, extending her arm out to point out where. 

"Harry, look!" Hermione said, pushing Harry's shoulder for him to stop daydreaming. "Oi!" He shrieked, rubbing his shoulder and gazing at the giant squid.

There are moments in life when I wish I could assemble a huge scrapbook, placing all my favorite memories in one place, so I could remember later in life; this was one of those times. To be here with my three best friends, to laugh and relax, these are the moments that are dear to my heart.

A shadow fell across us, covering the view of the giant squid. We all groaned as we flickered up to meet Hagrid, he appeared bleary-eyed, and he was mopping his face with one of his table-cloth-sized handkerchiefs beaming down at us.

"Know I should' feel happy, after wha' happened las' night, I mean, Black escapin' again an' everythin' - but guess what?" He excitedly said.

"What?" we all said, pretending to look curious.

"Beaky! He escaped! He's free! Bin celebration' all night!"

"That's wonderful!" Hermione said, giving Ron a reproving expression because he looked as though he was close to laughing. I beamed up at Hagrid, and he looked like he just came to an idea. 

"Oi! Rita, I recognized this... figured I'd return this to yeh." he fumbled around his pockets, patting them down to figure out where it was. He pulled out the knitted hat I composed for Buckbeak, throwing it into the air.

I caught it, pulling it to the sun to see it wasn't filled with dirt or earthy substances anymore. "Cleaned it up fer yeh too." He replied, beaming up at me. "Hagrid, thank you." I replied, hugging it to my chest.

"But - Er - he escaped! Yeah... can't've tied him up properly," Hagrid said, gazing upon the grounds happily. "I was worried this mornin', mind... thought he mighta met Professor Lupin on the grounds, but Lupin says he never ate anythin' las' night..."

"Why?" Harry said quickly.

"Blimey, haven' yeh heard?" Hagrid said, his smile fading a little. He lowered his voice, even though there was no one in sight. "Er - Snape told all the Slytherins this mornin'.... Thought everyone'd know by now... Professor Lupin's a werewolf, see. An' he was loose on the grounds las' night... He's packin' now, o' course. With yer father... Rita."

"He's packing? Why?" Harry said alarmed. "What?" I burst out, staring menacing at Hagrid. "Leavin', isn't he?" Hagrid said, seeming surprised that me and Harry had to ask. "Resigned firs' thing this mornin'. Says he can't risk it happenin' again."

"I need to see him." I jumped to my feet, taking the dirt off of my robes. Harry scrambled to his feet beside me. "I'm going to see him too." Harry added, and the two of us turned to Harry and Hermione.

"But if he's resigned -"

"- doesn't sound like there's anything we can do -"

"Too bad, I'm going." I huffed, turning my back to the castle. I walked across the school grounds, followed by Harry who was rushing to catch up with me.

Uncle Remus's office door was open, there was faint chatter lingering around the room. He had already packed most of his things. The grindylow's empty tank stood next to his battered old suitcase, which was open and nearly full. 

Dad seemed to be writing a letter on the comfy chair I used to sit on whenever I came for tea. His feet were on top of the desk, crossed over. The quill was writing itself while my father spoke loudly, it seemed to be writing everything he said. Uncle Remus was bending over something on his desk, and only looked up when Harry knocked on the door.

"I saw you two coming." He said, smiling. He pointed to the parchment he had been poring over. It was the Marauder's Map. Dad turned over his shoulder, the quill stopped short and was still floating in the air. "Come in!"

"We just saw Hagrid, and he said you'd resigned. It's not true, is it?" Harry said, he was breathing heavily after all the running he had done.

"I'm afraid it is," Uncle Remus said. He started opening his desk drawers and taking out the contents. 

"Uncle Remus! Why do you have to go?" I asked, shaking my head at him. "Why? The Ministry of Magic don't think you were helping Sirius, do they?" Harry asked.

Uncle Remus crossed to the door and closed it behind us.

"No, Professor Dumbledore managed to convince Fudge that I was trying to save your lives. That was the last straw for Severus. I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit him hard. So he - er - accidentally let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast." Uncle Remus sighed.

"Don't leave because of that! What about our hang outs after classes?" I sighed. I was devastated my Uncle was leaving. Him becoming one of the staff members was better, he was a brilliant teacher.

"We have all summer, Rita Pita." Uncle Remus said, placing his hands inside his pockets, smiling down at me. "You're not leaving just because of that!" Harry exclaimed.

Uncle Remus lifted his view, smiling wryly at Harry. He took a deep sigh before he answered.

"This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents... They will not want a werewolf teaching their children, Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you... I even put Ray in danger, the Ministry doesn't know about him being an Animagus... That must never happen again."

"Who cares what they think? I'll even figure out how to do the Wolfsbane potion!" I exclaimed, hoping that could change something. Instead, Uncle Remus chuckled. "You're the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had! Don't go!' Harry begged.

Uncle Remus shook his head and didn't speak. He carried on emptying his drawers. 

Then, Harry wrapped his arm around me and whispered to me. "We need to come up with a plan to keep him here." Uncle Remus peered up, and stared down at the two of us. 

"From what the headmaster told me this morning, you saved a lot of lives last night, Harry. If I'm proud of anything, it's how much you've learned... tell me about your Patronus."

Harry and I shared a glance, he placed his hand back to his side and stared confusedly at Uncle Remus. "How d'you know about that?" Harry said.

"What else could have driven the dementors back?"

Harry began telling Uncle Remus what had happened, Dad even turned around in the chair to give it a listen too. When he'd finished, the two were smiling. 

"Yes, your father was always a stag when he transformed, you guessed right... that's why we called him Prongs." Uncle Remus said, throwing a few last books in his case, closed the desk drawers and turned to gaze at the two of us.

"Here - I brought this from the Shrieking Shack last night," he said, handing Harry back the Invisibility Cloak. "And..." he hesitated, then held out the Marauder's Map too. 

"I am no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty about giving you this back as well. It's no use for me and Ray, and I daresay you, Rita, Ron and Hermione will find uses for it."

Harry looked over at me, our lips formed into a wide grin. "You told me Moony, Bandit, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs would've wanted to lure me out of school... you said they'd have thought it was funny."

"And so we would have," Uncle Remus said, now reaching down to close his case. "I have no hesitation in saying that James would have been highly disappointed if his son had never found any of the secret passages out of the castle."

"We'll do our best to live up to your reputation. Do our best to cause as much trouble as you lot did when you were in Hogwarts." I giggled, a smug expression was all over my face. "Now, we didn't start trouble-" Uncle Remus began, chuckling a bit.

There was a knock on the door. Harry stuffed the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak in his pocket. It was Professor Dumbledore. He didn't seem surprised to see the two of us here. "Your carriage is at the gates, Remus, Raymond." he said.

"Thank you, Headmaster." they both said in unison. Remus picked up his ancient suitcase, Dad picked up the empty grindylow tank. "Well - good-bye, Harry, it has been a real pleasure teaching you. I feel sure we'll meet again sometime. Headmaster, there is no need to see me to the gates, I can manage... as long as Rita accompanies us." He stifled a beam down at me.

"Harry, it was such a pleasure meeting you... You're allowed at the Vixen castle, whenever. Write me or Rita a letter, we'll gladly allow you to stay however long at the home... Dumbledore, it was such a wonderful time to consult with you again." Dad gracefully spoke, smiling down and jerking his head for me to follow them.

"Same to you, Raymond. Good-bye, then, Remus, Raymond." Dumbledore said soberly. Uncle Remus and Dad both shook hands with Dumbledore, and nodded off Harry and stepped out of the office.

"I better go... I'll catch up later, all right?" I smiled at Harry, whipping my hair to see Dad and Remus waiting for me. "All right." Harry replied with a grin.

I rushed out of the office, squeezing in between the two as we made our long stroll down to the entrance hall.

"I wouldn't have ever guessed Harry resembled James that much, Moony." Dad grunted, jerking his head to observe Uncle Remus's face. 

"Oh, I know. When he stepped into my classroom, I swore I saw a ghost. Then I observed how well Harry and Rita got along. Pushing each other into class and chuckling in between lessons. It made me think of how we were at Hogwarts." Remus chuckled, straightening out his case.

"Were Mum and Lily actually best friends?" I blurted out, darting from Dad and Uncle Remus.

"Best of friends. Total opposites." Uncle Remus answered. 

"James and I would talk about how we would ask them out on dates. Moony, Padfoot and - er - they would help us try and get closer with them. Remus was obviously the lucky one, he was friends with them both!" Dad exclaimed, sharing a glance with Uncle Remus.

"Well, it all worked out in some mysterious way... well, do I say so." Remus raised his eyebrows, rolling his eyes a bit. "Did you speak to Mum? Sorry, for just dragging you here out of nowhere... Got a little nervous," I awkwardly added.

"Spoke to her from the Floo Network. Remus and I went to Three Broomsticks and there I was, sticking my face in the green fire... she screamed so terribly that the whole pub stared at us." Dad sighed, remembering the awkward occurrence. He shuddered with embarrassment. "And then when Moony comes in and speaks to her she's like an elegant princess!"

Uncle Remus chuckled, he had a smug smile on his face. "I had to tell her the brilliant news."

"What news?" I asked, gazing up at them.

"Moony is staying -"

"I'm living with you -"

I gasped so loudly. "What about your werewolf problem, Uncle Remus?"

"Nicked - this - from Snape's." Dad whispered, struggling to get something out of his pocket. He shuffled the tank into one arm, dragging the crumpled piece of parchment out of his pocket.

"The Wolfsbane Potion?" I squeaked.

"Well, of course." Remus laughed.

We had arrived at the entrance hall, there was a black carriage with a guard standing properly in front of it.

"We'll see you later then?" Remus said, stepping down the stone steps.

"See you later then." I smiled, as the two of them returned it. 

Slowly they approached the guard, piled his things on the seat opposite and closed the door behind them. As the car moved, they shot their hands out the window to say goodbye.

"BYE!" I exclaimed, waving frantically at the black carriage that disappeared out of sight.

Nobody at Hogwarts knew the truth of what had happened the night that Sirius, Buckbeak, and Pettigrew had vanished except Harry, Ron, Hermione, me and Professor Dumbledore. As the end of term approached there were so many rumors floating around about what happened, none of them came close though. Many people came up to me, even asking me if I was a werewolf myself! Ron had to yell at them to budge off because our end of the table was getting crowded with the many people who had questions for me.

Malfoy was furious about Buckbeak, he was convinced Hagrid had found a way of smuggling the hippogriff to safety, and seemed outraged his father and the gamekeeper outwitted he. Percy Weasley, of course, had something to say about Sirius's escape and even more to say about me having some soft of werewolf blood in me.

"Oh, Perce! There's a full moon tonight, Rita going to come over and bite your head off!" Fred started, pretending to look terrified. "The crown princess werewolf she is!" George added, looking equally spooked.

"If I manage to get to the Ministry, I'll have a lot of proposals to make about Magical Law Enforcement!", he told his girlfriend who was cuddled up at our table.

Though the weather was perfect, though the atmosphere was so cheerful, though we knew that we had achieved the near impossible in helping Sirius to freedom, I was in a terrible shock to see my uncle go. I wasn't the only one who was sorry to see him go. The whole of my Defense Against the Dark Arts class was miserable about his resignation.

"Wonder what they'll give us next year?" said Seamus Finnegan gloomily. "Maybe a vampire," suggested Dean Thomas, hopefully.

The exam results came out on the last day of term, the four of us having passed every subject. Hermione exceeded so well she attempted to show everyone her outstanding grades. Ron even got a higher grade in Transfiguration from our study session the day before the exams. Harry even passed potions, he was so sure that he was bound to fail due to the outcome of Sirius's escaping. I passed Divination with flying colors, she even referred for me to take the class next year. 

Percy got his top-grade N.E.W.T.w; Fred and George had scraped a handful of O.W.L.s each. Gryffindor House, meanwhile, largely thanks to us for our spectacular performance in winning the Quidditch Cup, has won the House Championship for the third time running. This meant the end of term feast took place amid decorations of scarlet and gold, and that the Gryffindor table was the noisiest of the lot, as everyone celebrated.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station the next morning, Hermione gave us some shocking news.

"I went to see Professor McGonagall this morning, just before breakfast. I've decided to drop Muggle Studies."

"But you passed your exam with three hundred and twenty percent!" exclaimed Ron.

"I don't even know how you can get over a hundred!" I added.

"I know, but I can't stand another year like this one. The Time Turner, it was driving me mad. I've handed it in. Without Muggle Studies and Divination, I'll have a normal schedule again." She sighed.

"And that's all that matters." I added happily.

"Exactly." She smiled back.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell Harry and I about it. We're supposed to be your friends!" Ron said grumpily.

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone about it." Hermione said severely. 

"I'm not anyone, Ron." I giggled as he huffed and rolled his eyes at the two of us. Hermione looked over to Harry, who was watching Hogwarts disappear from view behind the mountain.

"Oh, cheer up, Harry!" Hermione said sadly. "It'll be a quick two months..." I added, looking gloomily at him. 

"I know and I'm okay, just thinking about the holidays." he said quickly.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about them too," Ron sighed, glancing over to Harry. "Harry, you've got to come and stay with us. I'll fix it up with Mum and Dad, then I'll call you, I know how to use a fellytone now -"

"A telephone, Ron," Hermione corrected as I snorted at him. "Honestly, you should take Muggle Studies next year..." Hermione rolled her eyes at him, sharing a glance with me. 

"You'll learn more about the fellytones, Ron." I teased, snorting to myself as Hermione stifled a smile. Ron ignored the two of us.

"It's the Quidditch World Cup this summer! How about it, Harry? Come and stay, we'll go and see it! Dad can usually get tickets from work."

Harry seemed to have brightened up after this proposal. "Yeah... I bet the Dursleys'd be pleased to let me come... especially after what I did to Aunt Marge...."

The four of us were more cheerful, joining in more games of Exploding Snap, and when the witch with the tea cart arrived, I bought tea and a plate of biscuits. Ron even tried to stretch his hand over and sneak one of my biscuits. I ended up giving him a few.

"Harry," Hermione said suddenly, peering over his shoulder. "What's that thing outside your window?"

We all turned over to check outside. Something petite and gray was bobbing in and out of sight beyond the glass. Harry stood up for a better look, informing us it was an owl, carrying a letter much too big for it. The owl was so tiny it kept tumbling over in the air, buffeted this way and that in the train's slipstream. 

Harry quickly pulled down the window and stretched out his arm and caught it. He brought it carefully inside. The owl dropped its letter onto Harry's seat and began zooming around our compartment, pleased with itself for accomplishing the task. Hewig clicked her beak with a sort of dignified approval. 

Crookshanks sat up in his seat, following the owl with its great yellow eyes. Ron noticed and snatched the owl safely out of harm's way. I checked over to see if Soupy was even bothered, but the cat was stretched out on her back, sleeping soundly.

I broke off a piece of biscuit, showing it off to the tiny owl, and it zoomed over onto my wrist with a joyous chirp. 

"Here, little one." I giggled, holding the mini crumb close to it, and it chomped it slowly. It burped and fluttered to my shoulder, rubbing its fluffy puny head in my neck. It zoomed back over to Ron's hands, and Ron smirked with his usual angled grin. 

"Mental owl lady." He teased, and I giggled and shook my head.

Harry picked up the letter. He ripped open the letter and shouted, "It's from Sirius!"

"What?" We all shouted excitedly, "Read it aloud!"

Harry cleared his throat, beginning to read the note aloud,

Dear Harry,

I hope this finds you before you reach your aunt and uncle. I don't know whether they're used to owl post. Buckbeak and are in hiding. You can tell Rita that we're all right and I'll send her a letter in no time. -

"Yay! I'm so excited for that letter." I squealed.

I won't tell you where, in case, this falls in the wrong hands. I have some doubt about this owl's reliability, but he is the best I could find, and he did seem very eager for the job. I believe the dementors are still searching for me, but they haven't a hope of finding me here. I am planning to allow some Muggles to glimpse me soon, a long way from Hogwarts, so that the security on the castle will be lifted. There is something I never got around to telling you during our brief meeting. It was I who sent you the Firebolt -

"Ha! See! I told you it was from him!" Hermione screamed triumphantly.

"Right again, Hermione." I scoffed.

"Yes, but he hadn't jinxed it, had he? Ouch!" He said suddenly. The tiny owl was now hooting happily in his hand, having nibbled one of his fingers in what seemed to think was an affectionate way.

Crookshanks took the order to the Owl Office for me. I used your name but told them to take the gold from Gringott's vault number seven hundred and eleven - my own. Please consider it a thirteen birthdays' worth of presents from your godfather.

I would also like to apologize for the fright I gave you that night last year when you left your uncle's house. I had only hoped to get a glimpse of you before starting my journey north, but I think the sight of me alarmed you.

I am enclosing something else for you, which I think makes your next year at Hogwarts more enjoyable. If you ever need me, send word. Your owl will find me. I'll write again soon.

Sirius

Harry looked eagerly inside the envelope. There was another piece of parchment in there. He read it through quickly. 

I, Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather, hereby give him permission to visit Hogsmeade on weekends.

"That'll be good enough for Dumbledore!" Harry said happily. He gazed back at Sirius's letter. "Hang on, there's a P.S..."

I thought your friend Ron might like to keep this owl, as it's my fault he no longer has a rat.

Ron's eyes widened. The minute owl was still hooting excitedly. "Keep him?" Ron said uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl for a moment, then to my surprise, he held him out for Crookshanks and Soupy to sniff.

"What'd you reckon? Definitely an owl?" Ron asked the cats.

Crookshanks and Soupy purred.

"That's good enough for me, he's mine." Ron said happily.

Sooner than expected, we were at King's Cross station. The four of us stepped back through the barrier of the platform of 9 3/4 . I stopped one person I would have never expected to come, Mum. Mum was standing next to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, it seemed like they were catching up like old friends. 

Then, to a considerable distance, was Harry's Uncle Vernon, looking like a whale out of sea. Harry, Hermione, Ron and I gathered over to greet the Weasleys and Mum, who gracefully shook hands with Hermione and Ron and gave Harry the biggest hug.

"I'm Claudine Vixen, your Mum's best friend from Hogwarts. You look just like James but you have -" she quickly said, grabbing his cheeks and tilting his head up. "Lily's eyes!" She quickly smiled, Harry turned a bit red from Mum's sudden grabby-ness.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Vixen." He beamed up at Mum who beamed back at him.

Mrs. Weasley gave Harry a hug, hello and goodbye. Harry's uncle seemed to be staring mentally at him, so it was his time to depart. Hermione's mum and dad waved frantically behind Uncle Vernon, Hermione squeezed me good-bye and hurried off to her parents.

"I'll call about the World Cup!" Ron yelled after Harry and Hermione, bidding them a goodbye. Mum and Mrs. Weasley seemed to give their good-byes and kissed each other's cheeks. 

"Bye, Ron!" Mum yelled, smiling at him. "Bye, Mrs. Vixen! Rita, I'll send you a letter as soon as I get home! I'll send it with him!" He grinned, pointing to the hooting minute owl on his shoulder.

"All right!" I waved goodbye, watching the ginger family wander out of the station.

Mum clapped her hand on my shoulder, she stood no more than a few inches taller than me, in black heels that seemed to make her taller than her usual self. Her hair was sleek, she had a black-and-white baker boy hat, her hair tucked behind her ears to show off the most beautiful shiny gems. She had a black tank top with a black-and-white patterned skirt to match her look. Mum was definitely one of the beautiful women in this place.

"Should we go home and talk about your little adventures?" she giggled, wrapping her arm around me and flickering down to see my face. Soupy purred excitedly. 

"It'll be a good story to catch up on." I giggled as Mum stifled a smile, and we strolled out of King's Cross, with a new joy lingering around us.


End file.
